SA cops quiz man over Dewani sex claims
2011-01-20 10:15
Cape Town - A German male sex worker who claims that Shrien Dewani paid him for sex has been questioned by top South African police officers, a British tabloid reported on Thursday.
According to Britain’s The Sun tabloid, top South African detective, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barkhuizen, and Scotland Yard officers went to the sex worker’s home in the British Midlands to get proof of his alleged links to Dewani.
Dewani has been charged with conspiring to kill his wife, Anni, in an apparent staged hijacking in Cape Town in November last year - a claim which he denies.
The shaven-headed, 105kg man from Munich, who calls himself The German Master and likes posing in leather gear, was questioned for two days by detectives.
'Three sex sessions'
Dewani is set to face an extradition hearing in London on Thursday.
When claims initially surfaced that he was gay, he strongly denied it, saying he and 28-year-old Anni were "blissfully happy".
But the German claims he was paid £1 100 (R12 250) for three sex sessions with the British businessman.
The Sun reported that the German sex worker had signed a statement and was warned that he may need to give evidence at a South African trial.
The German’s cellphone records are apparently being checked.
The tabloid also revealed that Dewani would not be attending the extradition hearing on Thursday because he is ill.
Top Cape Town lawyer
Meanwhile, they also wrote that Dewani had apparently told his wife’s father, Vinod Hindocha, that he had suffered a sex problem.
The tabloid quoted a ‘highly-placed South African police source’ as saying on Wednesday night: "Investigators have established Shrien told Anni's father he was suffering from a medical problem in relation to his private life.
"Just before the wedding, he told the dad his problem was 'better'."
In a further development, Cape Town police sources told The Sun that Dewani could be quizzed in court over concerns he tried to obstruct the inquiry.
Detectives say PIN numbers he gave them to activate his phone after the murder were incorrect.
Meanwhile, the Cape Times newspaper reported that well-known Capetonian lawyer Taswell Papier has been appointed to assist Dewani’s legal team.
Papier has previously been named as a Western Cape “hero” by former premier Ebrahim Rasool and was named the global lawyer of the year in 2006.