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Shaik moved 'for his health'
16/11/2006 18:52 - (SA)
Durban - Convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik's move to Empangeni's Qalakabusha Prison was due to his chronic medical condition, said the judicial inspectorate of prisons in Durban on Thursday.
Judge Nathan Erasmus said continued speculation about "preferential treatment in the media" had prompted him to personally investigate the reasons for Shaik being moved from Durban's Westville Prison just hours after he was booked in amid a media frenzy.
Erasmus, speaking at a press conference in Durban's Westville Prison, said Shaik, had not received preferential treatment.
"It (Qalakabusha Prison) is not a centre of excellence as has been reported in the media," he said.
Has had ailment for five years
He said he visited the prison and met Shaik in the confines of the hospital section of the Empangeni prison.
He said while he could not disclose Shaik's medical condition, it was "serious" and that Shaik could be more easily monitored at Qalakabusha because of the way it was constructed.
He said Shaik, former financial advisor and confidante of ex-deputy president Jacob Zuma, had had the ailment for the past five years.
Erasmus said the condition, although serious, was not such that it would warrant early release on medical parole.
However, but it had been the main reason for Shaik's transfer.
He said the Empangeni facility, like others in South Africa, was severely overcrowded.
Built to accommodate 1 352 inmates, at the close of business on Wednesday it held 2 374 inmates, 75% more than it should have.
Doctors'letters
He said that on his unannounced visit to the prison he personally saw Shaik eating the standard cooked cabbage, porridge and a pear for desert.
He said that Shaik had arrived at prison on November 9 with medical certificates from his physician.
He was examined by a doctor appointed by correctional services.
A decision was made to transfer him to the Empangeni facility where there was a better capacity for observing prisoners.
- SAPA
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