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Cassim's June 26 testimony

MR CASSIM: Adv Batohi, like I told you, I just could not recall the dates.

COMMISSIONER: Could I just chip in here, if you don't mind? Have a look at paragraph 8-10, please Mr Cassim. Now, can you remember did Sanjay just spend the day in Johannesburg and then fly on, or did he spend some time there, the day you met him?

MR CASSIM: The day I met him he spent about two or three - three to four hours in Johannesburg and he proceeded to Durban.

COMMISSIONER: Doesn't that tell us what the time of the month was, and what month, because if you look at paragraph 8.10, it's clear that the South African side was at the Beverley Hills, and that was the day that he arrived and spent, as Mr Cassim has told us, three or four hours in Johannesburg and he went on to Durban.

MS BATOHI: Mr Commissioner, I don't quite follow you. We're talking about telephonic contact, not the first meeting with him. The first contact ever, and that would have been telephonic. You see, Mr Cassim, I'm going to put it to you that when you in fact consulted with your counsel and with myself and Mr Edwards, you were very clear about the fact that you met Mr - well, Mr Chawla contacted you for the first time shortly before the triangular series, and now as you sit here and you've realised that there's a lot of cellphone detailed billing et cetera, that telephone contact between you and Sanjay before January this year can very easily be established. You didn't realise that earlier, and now that you've realised it, you've actually changed your evidence to suit that possibility or eventuality. Can you comment on that?

MR CASSIM: I knew that cellphone or telephonic billings are at disposal at any time if you needed it, but like as I said, I couldn't recall dates. I thought that the test matches and the one-day were very close to one another.

MS BATOHI: Mr Sanjay then arrived in Johannesburg International Airport, and it would appear that he landed at -what time? Do you have the time? If you'll bear with me, Mr Commissioner. Let me get these detailed billings in order. It would appear that Mr Chawla came in through Customs at about - just after half-past twelve, midday. Would you agree with that, more-or-less?

MR CASSIM: More-or-less, I think so.

MS BATOHI: And your evidence then is that he spent a couple of hours with you. And it appears from the documents that we have that he flew out of Johannesburg on the same evening, later that evening. Would you confirm that?

MR CASSIM: That's correct.

MS BATOHI: So he spent a couple of hours with you whilst he was in Johannesburg on that day?

MR CASSIM: That's correct.

MS BATOHI: It's about half-past seven that he left for Durban. Now what - I'm just a big confused, Mr Cassim, I do understand you're a very - a person who likes doing this for people, but why do you decide to go and pick Mr Chawla up at the airport, take him wherever, to your shop in Fordsburg, spend a couple of hours with him, and then drive him back to the airport, I presume. Is that what you did?

MR CASSIM: That's correct.

MS BATOHI: Why - didn't this affect the running of your business and things? Why did you get involved to that extent with a stranger, someone who meant absolutely nothing to you?

MR CASSIM: Being the person I am, not only for Sanjay, many other people, I would go out of my way for them. I know it affected my business, I had my sons helping me, it was a Sunday evening, my business is open 'til late on a Sunday and they assisted me on that particular day.

MS BATOHI: How did you recognise him at the airport?

MR CASSIM: To be very honest with you, I did not recognise him, he was one - the - I - if I can recall clearly, he phoned me from inside, I think he had a problem with his visa or what it was, and he was the last person to practically come out of there. I actually waited for about two hours at the airport.

MS BATOHI: You haven't answered my question. How did you recognise him when he arrived at the airport?

MR CASSIM: He called me from inside to say he was coming out.

MS BATOHI: Well, he didn't know who you were either.

MR CASSIM: That's what I - I presume so, he didn't know who I was.

MS BATOHI: How did you all recognise each other?

MR CASSIM: He was the last person to walk out of the Johannesburg International Airport, the Customs section.

MS BATOHI: Well, Mr ...(intervention)

COMMISSIONER: It was a meeting of cellphones by the sound of things.

MS BATOHI: Mr Cassim, you wouldn't have know that he was the last person. You couldn't have known that, because people could have come after him. But how did you all recognise each other?

MR CASSIM: I'll tell you what, Adv Batohi, Johannesburg International Airport, I didn't even know that myself, has got two incoming arrivals. This was from British - I think it was from the British Airways section.

MS BATOHI: Just answer the question, please, Mr Cassim. We'll be very long. How did you recognise each other? For the last time.

MR CASSIM: Just presumed he was an Indian man coming through and he was the only one left. He was the only Indian, the last Indian, the last person to walk out of the Customs.

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