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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the re-arrest of convicted fraudster, Shabir Shaik, after accusations of assault were levelled against him over the weekend. This is the second alleged incident of assault Mr Shaik has been involved in during the past three weeks, and if he is indeed found to have committed these acts, he will have been in serious violation of his parole conditions.

The Minister of Correctional Services today stated that Mr Shaik will be held for 72 hours while the two incidents are investigated. The DA has twice in the last month called for the Department of Correctional Services to investigate Mr Shaik’s alleged violation of his parole. We are pleased that the Department is taking this matter seriously, and will be watching the proceedings of the Parole Board with interest.

These two incidents indicate that Mr Shaik is incapable of staying within the parameters of his parole conditions, and clearly does not appear to be suffering from the terminal illness that was the basis for his medical parole. We urge the Board to take decisive action against Mr Shaik if their investigation finds him in violation of his parole. Failure to do so will cast serious doubts on the credibility of the Board, the parole process, and the Department of Correctional Services.