Man accused of Siam Lee's murder to appear in Durban high court

The man accused of kidnapping and murdering 20-year-old escort Siam Lee is due to appear in the Durban High Court on Monday where the state is expected to set a pre-trial date.

The 30-year-old man faces a raft of charges surrounding Lee’s disappearance and murder, as well as the rape of another woman. He cannot be named until he has tendered a plea in relation to the rape charge.

TimesLIVE extensively reported on the case which made national headlines following the disappearance of Lee on January 4 last year.

Lee‚ who worked as an escort to support her mother Carmen Nan Lee‚ 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.

Following an intensive investigation, the Durban businessman was arrested at his residence almost two weeks after Lee was last seen alive and was granted bail of R40,000 under strict conditions, one being that he report to a police station three times a week.

The man made several appearances in the Durban Magistrate's court before the case was moved to the Durban High Court, where a pre-trial date is to be set on Monday.

The Sunday Times reported that 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 at having to lead a double life while moving from one brothel to another‚ all the while maintaining a façade for her family and friends.