Throb accused an 'outrageous liar'

Sivanathan "Bolton" Chetty sits with his co-accused, stroking his moustache as he listens to the evidence against him. During the adjournments, he attempts to engage those around him in conversation - the media, his supporters in the gallery or the witnesses.

He looks remarkably calm for a man who has been charged with the murder of 13 children, 54 counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and contravening the Teargas Act.

Prosecutor Advocate Kessie Naidu summed up Chetty in his closing argument on Friday. "Saying he is thrifty with the truth is paying him a compliment - he is an outrageous liar," he said.

While his co-accused - Selvan "Dog Man" Naidoo and Vincent "Sanna" Pillay - have admitted their part in releasing the teargas canister in the Throb nightclub on March 24, Chetty has maintained his innocence throughout.

On the witness stand, he claimed he did not know what the word confession meant.

"He would insult the intelligence of the court by saying he did not know the meaning of the word confession before hearing it in court.

"He does not want to accept that he wanted to confess his own involvement," said Naidu with regards to police statements alleging Chetty wanted to make a confession.

Naidoo and Pillay have been portrayed as two ignorant men convinced by Chetty that the teargas canister would just make the children's eyes "tear". It would show that Throb was a "bad" club and would force the patrons to rather go to the Silver Slipper, the nightclub Chetty co-owned and managed.

Defence for Naidoo and Pillay, Advocate Colin Steyn, on Friday told the court the teargas canister was viewed as "almost a schoolboy prank" that went horribly wrong and they did not realise the damage that would be caused.

"Accused one and two (Naidoo and Pillay) should be found guilty of culpable homicide and should be found guilty of assault," he stated, adding that they did not have a very high level of intelligence and had found it difficult to obtain work.

"It seems they were willing to do anything to get work," he said.

All fingers have pointed to Chetty as the mastermind behind the incident. Dayalan Pillay described how Chetty had the canister under his car seat and told them it would just make the children cry and run out of the club. "It would be like the previous incident," he allegedly told the three men.

Dayalan Pillay said Chetty knew about the effects of the canister because he had been a police reservist.

The other two have corroborated Dayalan Pillay's story, describing how Chetty called for the death of Pillay, claiming he could not be trusted to keep quiet.

As evidence was brought against him during the last two weeks in the Durban High Court, Chetty sat frantically scribbling notes.

The attorney acting for the landlord of the Silver Slipper premises, Vineshwar Singh, alleged that Chetty and Gonny Naidoo, his brother-in-law, battled to pay their monthly rent and, by the time of the incident, were still not fully up to date.

Evidence before court has linked Gonny Naidoo to a notorious Chatsworth gang, the Dre Boys, known for their drug dealing and stealing.

Some members of the gang have GFS tattooed on their arms, believed to stand for Gonny's Fighting Soldiers and even Vincent Pillay, who has worked for Gonny, admitted he also has the tattoo.

Chetty's attorney, who accompanied him and the other accused to visit an advocate on the Saturday after the incident, is now standing trail himself as one of the accused in the SBV trial happening in the court across the corridor.

Naidu alleged that Chetty himself was a state witness in that case and was treated as a hostile witness.

Chetty claimed he was the Samaritan that helped the other two accused in their time of need, and that all witnesses were lying.

With his hand in his pocket, he rocked from foot to foot as he gave evidence.

By the end of day nine, Chetty still managed to smile before walking down to the cells. On Monday Jimmy Howse, his advocate, will present his closing argument.

"Enjoy your weekend, if you can," his attorney told him as he disappeared down the stairs towards the waiting car that would take him to his weekend incarceration.

The trial is proceeding.