Africa-Press – South-Africa. The five men accused of robbing missing German tourist Nick Frischke in February briefly appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court via video link from Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town on Friday.
Frischke, from Brandenberg near Cottbus in Germany, was robbed on 15 February after he left his Airbnb accommodation in Pinelands.
Igshaan Fisher, Jason Abrahams, Vanroy Petersen, Carlo Guenantin and Melvin Guenantin were subsequently arrested on charges of aggravated robbery and possession of a firearm.
Frischke is yet to be found.
The accused, all dressed in winter clothing, appeared on screen in court waving and blowing kisses to the camera.
In a surprising turn of events, state prosecutor Caleb Williams told the court that accused number two, Abrahams, intends to apply for bail and would need to be brought to court on 22 September to consult with his legal aid lawyer regarding his bail application.
The court decided that Abrahams would appear in person on the day. The others will again appear via video link.
A Regional Court date has been set for 10 October for all the accused.
“It will be their first appearance in the Regional Court, where their rights will be read again,” Williams said.
In addressing the accused on their Regional Court date, the magistrate asked if they understood what was being said, to which they all nodded.
Fisher raised his hand to address the court. He asked when he could speak to his lawyer as he wanted to plead.
“There will be a time when you can consult with your lawyer,” the magistrate said before calling the next case on the court roll.
All five accused appeared despondent when told to return to their holding cells.
A senior court official told the media outside court there was not enough evidence to add murder to the charge sheet.
He did not rule out that it could still be added.
News24 previously reported that despite Frischke’s body not being found, the State had proposed that murder be added to the charge sheet. However, this needed to be investigated to see if there were grounds for a murder charge.
Speaking to the media outside court, Randall Abrahams, father of Jason, said he was happy that his son would get a chance to apply for bail.
Abrahams said:
He said he has been regularly visiting his son in prison and that Jason is “doing well and looks well”.
Abrahams said he strongly believes his son will be released soon and will be back with the family.
“He’s looking after himself. All they do is sit in their cells talking to one another and doing their normal routine work that they [are] supposed to do,” said Abrahams.
Trying to hold back his tears, Abrahams said he was glad they had not been charged with murder.
“There is no evidence of murder. They can’t find any evidence of who murdered him or where Nick is at this moment. He might be somewhere in Cape Town or somewhere else.”
“Nobody knows if he’s dead or alive. They have no proof of anything. The cops are not investigating,” said Abrahams.
The police disputed his version.
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the investigation is ongoing.
“The search has not been abandoned but scaled down. In partnership with local community organisations, search and rescue and local hiking clubs, searches are still being conducted in the area and surrounds of his disappearance,” said Van Wyk.
The SAPS do extensive searches in events where “credible new information is received”, he said.
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