Tik suspects to stay in jail
2005-01-21 22:53
Cape Town - The public would be outraged if two Chinese men in custody for allegedly manufacturing the drug, Tik, were released on bail, the Bellville regional court heard on Friday.
The men, Kam Wai Ho and Kai Nam Chan, were arrested with two others on December 20 on charges of dealing in Tik with a street value of R4m and possession of enough ingredients to produce R72m more of the drug.
They also face a charge under the Environmental Act for allegedly dumping waste materials from the manufacture of the drug into the sewerage system.
A third suspect, Jiang Dong Li, 32, recently abandoned his application for bail, while a fourth, Jannie Dalton Hong, 37, was released on bail of R50 000 by Somerset West magistrate's court.
Circumstantial evidence
Prosecutor André Kirsten said to magistrate Johan Vermaak: "There is a strong probability that Ho and Chan will abscond if released on bail."
Kirsten said the public had followed the case in the media, knew the value of the drugs involved and how serious the matter was. The public would be shocked if they were released.
If the two absconded overseas, diplomatic processes would have to be used to get them back to South Africa.
He said: "We definitely do not want to find ourselves in this situation."
The defence team, however, contended that the State's case against the men was weak and based on circumstantial evidence.
Cops kept tabs on house
The team said with a strong possibility of acquittals, it would be punishment for them to be kept in custody.
Advocate Hugo Rossouw said: "Before you may punish anyone, he or she has to be convicted of an offence."
Rossouw said: "Bail could not be refused merely on the risk of the men absconding; there had to be a probability they would abscond."
The arrests followed police observations of a house at Plattekloof where Tik was manufactured, and a house in Somerset Ridge from where the raw ingredients were taken to Plattekloof.
The case was postponed until Thursday for a finding on the bail application.
- SAPA