Two men accused of extorting money from a Cape Town businessman were released on R10 000 bail each in the Atlantis Magistrate's Court yesterday, says a TimesLIVE report. The men, who have not yet pleaded, allegedly assaulted the businessman while they were collecting debt on behalf of a third party.

The lawyer of one of the accused, William Booth, made several allegations against the investigating officer in the matter, including that the officer was being investigated for alleged corruption.

The state pointed out that the policeman had never been charged, nor had he been to court over the allegations.

At first, the state opposed bail – claiming that the witnesses in the case would be intimidated. The state said that the complainant, an elderly man, was assaulted several times by the two accused in an attempt to collect the money.

The report notes one of the men is a bouncer boss and the other is a private investigator who is currently also doing private investigation work for Eskom.

Booth attended court with four armed private security guards. The matter was postponed until 15 May.

Full TimesLIVE report