Cops still probing Shaik assault case

2011-05-12 09:45

Durban - KwaZulu-Natal police have still not finalised their investigation against convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik for allegedly assaulting a journalist, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

"We are still investigating. I cannot say when the investigation will be complete. At this stage, I am unable to say what needs to be completed because it is a sensitive matter and may jeopardise the case," provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Phindile Radebe said.

Journalist Amanda Khoza laid a complaint against Shaik after he allegedly slapped and throttled her on a golf course in February. She was working on a story about him playing golf while being out on parole, which was granted because he was apparently terminally ill.

It was reported last month that the National Prosecuting Authority handed the case docket back to the police, because the investigation was "incomplete", provincial director of prosecutions Simphiwe Mlotshwa told The New Age.

Shaik served just over two years of a 15-year sentence for corruption, most of which he spent in a medical unit. He was given medical parole on grounds that he was terminally ill, but opposition parties questioned whether he was indeed ill following sightings of him in public.

He was jailed for facilitating a bribe from French arms company Thint, allegedly for President Jacob Zuma.

- SAPA