Three Belhar residents accused of kidnapping a lawyer have appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court.
Almore Schreuder, 40, Charmaine Shreuder, 24, and Garth Weber, 33, were arrested on Saturday after lawyer Gerhard Cornelius de Jongh was reported missing by his wife.
The three are charged with kidnapping and three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. They appeared dishevelled and agitated before Magistrate Nasira Khan on Monday, reports the Cape Argus.
Weber was legally represented by Sameer Sayed while the Schreuders opted for Legal Aid.
Attempting to bring a bail application for his client as a matter of urgency, Sayed said: “This matter is clearly wired, a wife caught her husband having a lovely party. This is what this matter is about, nobody got kidnapped.”
He also pointed out to the magistrate that on the charge sheet, the prosecutor scratched out “firearm” and replaced it with “knife”.
“The complainant [De Jongh] in this matter is a frequent client of one of the accused. These are trumped-up charges… nobody was tied up, nobody was kidnapped, nobody was bound up and the complainant is very well acquainted with all three of these accused,” Sayed said.
According to police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi, on February 17, De Jongh’s wife reported him missing. Bellville detectives traced him to an address in Klawer.
The matter was postponed to February 24.