Johannesburg - After spending more than 12 hours in a jail cell, Katerina Krejcirova was re-united with her four-year-old late last night.
The wife of Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir was released on a warning and is expected to appear in court on Monday.
The Krejcir family’s legal team filed an urgent application last night to have Krejcirova released on bail last night.
Yesterday, in a dramatic arrest, heavily armed police officers cuffed her outside the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court where her husband was making his third attempt to get bail.
It was denied.
Krejcirova was arrested in connection with stolen vehicles found on her Vaal property.
In an almost empty courtroom, Krejcir, who faces numerous charges of tax evasion, pleaded that in light of his wife’s arrest, there was no one to take care of their son.
He said his mother, who was visiting South Africa from the Czech Republic, was unable to care for his son as she was sick and did not speak English.
But magistrate Reginald Dama responded that while the law stated it was in the best interests of the child to stay with his primary or secondary caregiver, it was not in the interests of justice to give Krejcir bail.
Krejcir had earlier appeared confident, even though his wife had been detained earlier.
After the verdict, however, he seemed dejected.
He briefly spoke to his visibly disappointed mother, Nadedza Krejcirova, before walking down the stairs to the holding cells, led by a group of armed policemen.
During the proceedings, the two “bodyguards” of state prosecutor Louis Mashiane stuck to his side at all times.
Meanwhile, Krejcir’s 21-year-old son, Dennis Krejcir, is expected to hand himself over to the police on Monday, also in connection with stolen vehicles linked to his parents’ business operations.
The family’s lawyer, Tim du Plessis, confirmed this, and said the arrangement followe the arrest of Krejcirova.
Du Plessis described Krejcirova’s arrest as malicious.
“To arrest her at court when they know where she lives is clearly orchestrated,” he told the Saturday Star.
“We are of the view that (Krejcirova’s) arrest was unlawful and that there is no case against her. We will challenge the prosecution with this on Monday,” Du Plessis said.
Meanwhile, the Hawks’ Captain Paul Ramoloko said that another person had been taken into custody soon after Krejcirova’s arrest. He declined to name the individual.
Krejcir was arrested in November last year on charges of kidnapping and the attempted murder of a man whose brother, known only as “Doctor”, disappeared with a 25kg shipment of tik after being recruited to help smuggle the drugs through OR Tambo International Airport.
In court yesterday, Dama dismissed attempts by Krejcir’s defence counsel to bring “new evidence”.
Dama said that suggestions that Krejcir was in dire financial straits were not compelling enough to sway the court in granting him bail.
It was earlier submitted that Krejcir’s family was struggling financially while he was in custody. But Dama rejected this view, saying Krejcir was arrested before but his businesses were still operating.
He also dismissed the defence’s submission that Krejcir was not a flight risk.
He said while Krejcir had indicated his passport had expired and he had not applied for a new one, he could find a way to obtain a passport.
Krejcir had also failed to inform the court of all his convictions and the pending cases against him.
Nadezda Krejcirova, elegantly dressed in a cream silk designer scarf and floral blouse, did not know why her son had been arrested.
She did not want to speak further to the media. – Additional reporting by Sapa
Saturday Star