Pietermaritzburg - Pietermaritzburg businessman Ravijee Soni, 37, wanted his former friend Dr Bhavish Sewran out of KwaZulu-Natal, as he suspected Sewran of having an affair with his wife, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard on Wednesday.
He allegedly used a police officer's need for money to feed his drug addiction to devise schemes to harass him, and allegedly laid false charges which caused Sewran to appear in court.
Soni faces a charge of murder for allegedly hiring Sabelo Dlamini to kill Sewran as he left his surgery in May 2013.
Former drug addict and police officer Sugendran Naidoo told the court that one of Soni's plans saw him allegedly offer R1 500 for each of Sewran's ribs broken in an assault.
Naidoo, who has left the police and was allegedly a co-conspirator of Soni's, was warned that he faced prosecution if he did not tell the truth.
In a scheme to embarrass Sewran, Soni asked Naidoo to find a good-looking woman who could pose as a patient of Sewran's, and then lay a charge of sexual assault against the doctor.
Naidoo said Soni offered him R20,000 to open such a case, R30 000 if Sewran was arrested and R20 000 if he appeared in court.
Naidoo said Soni instructed that the woman should report to the Mountain Rise police station in Pietermaritzburg, and state that Sewran fondled her breasts.
A colleague of Naidoo gave the woman R300 and told her she should pose as a patient on a Friday night when Naidoo and the colleague were on duty.
Naidoo said he instructed a Warrant Officer Govender to arrest Sewran but Govender phoned him to say that Sewran still had patients to treat and asked if it was permissible for Sewran to report to the station.
Naidoo agreed, and later at the police station, Sewran's attorney was shocked and could not believe the allegation made against his client.
Sewran was allowed to leave and appeared in the magistrate's court on the following Monday.
The case was withdrawn as the investigation and the woman's evidence were poor, with Naidoo telling the court that Soni was angry at the result.
Naidoo also used a contact to falsify a charge of assault against Sewran, but since it was not aggravated assault, Sewran was allowed out on a warrant.
In a separate trial Dlamini was sentenced to 25 years in jail for the murder of Sewran.
The case continues.
Sapa