Johannesburg - A medical doctor who examined a man who claimed to have been assaulted and tortured by Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and five others, said on Monday he did not suspect the man had been tortured.
“I did not pick up on the fact that he had been tortured,” Doctor Sifiso Ndlangamandla told the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in Palm Ridge.
Ndlangamandla examined Bheki Lukhele in June last year, a few days after he was allegedly assaulted and had boiling water poured over his head, allegedly by Krejcir.
The doctor said had he known the medical examination might be used to assist in a trial, he would have taken pictures of the patient.
“We usually do so in case information is needed at a later stage,” said Ndlangamandla, the sixth witness to testify in the trial.
“I concluded he had first degree burns,” said Ndlangamandla, referring to his medical records.
He told Lukhele to come back in two weeks. He did not return.
He was being led in delivering his evidence-in-chief by prosecutor Louis Mashiane.
Ndlangamandla admitted that he had no recollection of Lukhele.
He had however, been requested to fill in a “J88” - a police medical report - for the trial on February 19, 2014.
He referred to his initial notes to assist him in filling out the form, the court heard.
Meanwhile, the proceedings were being held with a different set of police guards after the integrity of the members of an elite police unit guarding the court was questioned last week.
This came after some of them were accused of influencing one of Krejcir's co-accused Desai Luphondo into making an alleged confession to his part in the kidnapping, attempted murder, and drug dealing case currently being heard by the court.
On Thursday, Mashiane began a trial-within-a-trial when he asked the court to accept a statement from Luphondo, which was made shortly after his arrest in November.
The matter would be dealt with during Monday's proceedings.
Krejcir, Luphondo, Warrant Officers Samuel “Saddam” Maropeng and George Nthoroane, Jan Lefu Mofokeng, and Siboniso Miya face charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, and dealing in drugs.
All the accused have denied guilt.
They allegedly recruited a man known as Doctor Nkosi to help smuggle 25kg of tik (methamphetamine) to Australia.
He worked for a cargo company at OR Tambo International Airport, and allegedly disappeared with the shipment.
Krejcir and his co-accused allegedly kidnapped and tortured his brother Bheki Lukhele in a bid to have him reveal his sibling's whereabouts.
Nkosi has also testified in the trial where he confessed to stealing the drugs. - Sapa