THE suspect accused of the murder of Durban North resident, Siam Lee took the stand at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday in a bid to ask the court to consider his bail application. The 29-year-old went into detail about his arrest alleging the case was tainted. He further alleged he was assaulted by Durban private investigator Brad Nathanson and his team and Durban North police.
The suspect, dressed in a smart grey suit, went so far as to call the state’s case against him ‘weak’.
The Assagay resident, through cross examination from his advocate, Martin Krog, detailed his arrest at his home in the upper Highway area.
He said he was forced at gunpoint to open the gate of his home when he was arrested.
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“I had been on a business trip to Gauteng and had arrived back home when a gold Toyota Fortuner pulled up outside my home. One of the men pointed a firearm at me and swore at me, asking me to open the gate. He was joined by another man who insisted on me opening the gate. Fearing for my life I opened the gate…At no point did they identify themselves. They had a narratrive they wanted me to follow. They kept telling me I had killed Siam Lee,” he said.
Krog also asked the court to rule on allowing Brad Nathanson and his staff to be excluded from the hearing as they are due to be called up as witnesses at the trial. He claimed his client was arrested in the absence of police, that his house was illegally searched and that that photos of the 29-year-old were leaked onto Nathanson’s Facebook page before he had pleaded.
Magistrate Mohamed Motala agree to the defense’s terms.
The suspect also urged the court to consider his bail as he owned two businesses, worth R2 million each. He added that he paid for his brother’s education at a private high school in Pietermaritzburg. He told the court he pays himself a monthly salary of R64 000.
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“My businesses are in South Africa and my family are here in KZN. I have every intention of fighting this case to clear my name. I have no intention of trying to run away and I won’t interfere with the case in any way,” he pleaded.
He asked the court to consider granting him bail of R10 000.
The case continues tomorrow with the state cross examining the suspect.
