A taxi driver who was accused of stealing one Motorola ZM phone valued $32,000 from his passenger was placed on $25,000 bail yesterday by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.
Brian Harlequin, 27, of 130 Hadfield Street, Durban Backlands pleaded not guilty to stealing the cell phone from Shaeda Osmond on January 11.
According to his attorney Mohamed Zafar, Harlequin is the driver of taxi HB4110. Zafar told the court that the virtual complainant had left her phone in his client’s car but he did not steal it.
However Osmond told the court that she had used the taxi to go to the Georgetown Club and had rested her phone at her side in the front seat of the car where she was sitting. She said when she reached her destination she got out of the car without her phone and within the space of two minutes her phone had been turned off when she tried calling to have it returned.
Prosecutor Inspector Stephen Telford did not object to bail and Harlequin is to return to Court 10 on January 23.