Cape Town - A female lawyer was questioned by cops after her client, a murder suspect, escaped from Pollsmoor Prison shortly after she went to see him.
Police have since nabbed the 21-year-old escapee in Porterville and handed him over to the Anti-Gang Unit.
Cheslin Abrahams from Valhalla Park is currently on trial at the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court for 21 cases including murder and attempted murder.
All the alleged incidents happened in the Valhalla Park area and surrounds over several years, police say.
According to a source, Abrahams is an alleged hitman with links to The Firm gang.
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, says Abrahams was arrested on Wednesday afternoon by Porterville police detectives following his daring escape from Pollsmoor last Thursday.
“He was arrested at a residence in Porterville and was handed over to members of the Anti-Gang Unit,” he says.
“He is currently being held in a correctional facility in Cape Town.”
Spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, Simphiwe Xako, says an investigation is underway to determine how the suspect escaped.
“The department is busy with an internal investigation. All we know at this stage is that he had left his cell to consult with his lawyer,” says Xako.
He said Abrahams is back at Pollsmoor.
“Necessary security arrangements were made for the safe custody of the inmate in the centre and we would not object should he be transferred to another centre, e.g. Goodwood Prison, to allow for the investigation to take place,” Xako adds.
Abrahams’ lawyer, advocate Shameemah Lakay, was questioned by police over the incident, said advocate Vaughn Fransch, who is representing her.
Fransch denies his client had anything do with Abrahams’ escape.
“Advocate Lakay was questioned by police in my presence. This was a necessary part of the investigation as she had been to see her client last Thursday,” Fransch tells the Daily Voice.
“She entered through the visitors’ section, signed in, saw her client through the glass and bars, as all consultations take place at the correctional facility.
“She then left through the visitors’ entrance again.
“It is highly discrediting and disrespectful to suggest that she had done anything but consult with her client.
“The officer who questioned my client in my presence came to the conclusion that she had nothing to do with the actions of her client.”
Xako confirms that Abrahams is appearing on Friday at the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court.