Siam Lee's murder accused grilled over torture claims

The arrest and alleged torture of a man accused of the kidnapping and murder Durban escort Siam Lee – who disappeared from a suburban brothel in January - was examined in minute detail as his bid for bail continued in the Durban Regional court on Wednesday.

The businessman’s bail application‚ adjourned twice already and set down for three days this week‚ saw his evidence-in-chief challenged by the prosecution in painstaking detail.

Prosecutor Surekha Marimuthoo served to undercut the man’s earlier testimony‚ pointing to material contradictions in facts as she waded through each point.

The 29-year-old faces a raft of charges‚ including the kidnapping and murder of Lee‚ as well as the rape of another woman. He cannot be named until he has tendered a plea in relation to the rape charge.

Much to his chagrin‚ the alleged killer was questioned at length on the moments between the time private investigator Brad Nathanson detained him until he was delivered to the police station. The man had previously said that Nathanson and his staff had‚ in the absence of police‚ tortured him and conducted unlawful searches of his Shongweni home‚ west of Durban.

The man had repeatedly become flustered with Marimuthoo’s line of questioning‚ as she probed the specifics on how he was assaulted and by who.

“The prosecutor is confusing herself at times. I was being assaulted by people I didn’t know … am I supposed to count the number of times they punched me‚” he retaliated.

Marimuthoo responded that the man seemed to be distancing himself from the severity of his assault‚ pointing to changes in testimony from his earlier evidence to the recounted version of events on Wednesday.

On his torture – being suffocated with the police evidence bag – the man said he would never forget that moment.

“I will always remember the man’s face. Shane Brits ... he was the one who came to me with the bag while Brad Nathanson held my legs. Every time you try and breathe the bag comes closer to your face. I was struggling to get my hands loose because I couldn’t get any air‚” he added.

Lee‚ who worked as an escort to support her mother‚ was last seen on January 4 outside a Durban North house that operates as a brothel. The search for her spanned KwaZulu-Natal and ended when the charred remains of a woman were found in a sugarcane field in New Hanover.

The body was later identified as that of the 20-year-old by her relatives.

The Sunday Times reported that Siam Lee had reached out to an organisation that assists sex workers‚ pleading for their help in the weeks before her murder. She detailed her despair of having to lead a double life while moving from one brothel to another‚ all the while maintaining a façade for her family and friends.

The bail application continues on Thursday.