Krejcir's lawyer lashes police for 'abusing' their power

Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir's lawyer yesterday accused the police of abusing their powers by arresting his client and two others at the weekend for an armed robbery allegedly committed in October.

Krejcir, Jason Dominguez and Veselin Langanin are accused of robbing an electronics shop in Pretoria West of R200000.

Krejcir was arrested at his home in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, on Sunday, and Langanin and former bouncer Dominguez were arrested in Bryanston, and at a restaurant in Sandton, both in northern Johannesburg, respectively.

Their lawyer, Eddie Classen, said the state's case was thin and that the police abused their power when they made the arrests.

"They just wanted to show them that they can keep them in prison.

"They had no reason to arrest them on Sunday because they gave full cooperation when the matter began in October.

"They are trying to teach them a lesson. We are confident that they will be released on bail."

Prosecutor Casper Kruger yesterday asked for the three men's bail application to be postponed to Thursday to give the state time to gather information.

"We are still waiting for telephone records and to verify with Interpol if the accused were listed [as sought]," said Kruger.

Classen described Kruger's application for a postponement as "just a mechanism to frustrate our clients' right to bring a bail application".

"The state's reasons are just nonsense. Krejcir is known to the police and he is out on bail on a separate matter.

"Langanin has been in the country since 1989 and they all gave their cooperation."

Magistrate Maryke de la Rey postponed the case to February16.

Krejcir is expected to stand trial in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court in April for allegedly defrauding the insurance group Liberty Life of R4.5-million by falsely claiming that he had cancer.