According to reports, there appears to be no evidence that convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik was beaten up at a Durban golf course two weeks ago.
There appear to be no eyewitnesses and no CCTV footage.
Die Burger reports that they interviewed up to 50 staff and regulars at the Papwa Sewgolum Golf Course in Reservoir Hills and no one could corroborate Shaik’s story that he had been attacked by four drunk men at the clubhouse.
Die Burger said that, according to Aslam Peer, the club’s spokesman, the incident “did not take place”.
Peer told the newspaper that they had thoroughly investigated the alleged assault and had interviewed staff, management, security and players and no one had seen anything.
Clubhouse manager Manju Patel she was also surprised to hear about Shaik’s claims.
An incident like this could not happen without someone knowing about it and if anyone saw anything they would have reported it to her, she told Die Burger.
According to Shaik, he had confronted the men after he overheard them making racist remarks.
“I went there alone. I had just played a round of golf and was taking a breather when I heard them talking badly about the ANC and President Jacob Zuma. They called him the k-word,” Shaik told the Sunday Times.
“They kept on punching and kicking me. I think they wanted to prove a point to me. I became a target in some sense,” Shaik said.
“There were four drunk guys. They were really big in size and much, much younger than me.”
Course officials have received no report of the incident and cannot confirm if there was a punch-up, an EWN report said earlier this week. Police sources said an officer even went to see Shaik after the media made an enquiry about the incident but the convicted fraudster again refused to open a case.
In the Sunday Times, Shaik was quoted as saying: “If I laid charges against them it will be another big thing. Correctional Services would not hear both sides of the story. They would whisk me straight to jail.”
Shaik confirmed to Die Burger this week that he would not lay a charge.
- IOL