Schabir Shaik this morning admitted that he made a clear error when he told the Durban High Court he had discussed an encrypted fax with the management of French arms company Thomson.

Shaik, who faces fraud and corruption charges, was confronted with this evidence by lead prosecutor Billy Downer SC on his seventh day of cross-examination.

Previously Shaik said he had discussed the fax with two directors of Thomson while in Mauritius in November 2000 *1.

On another occasion, Shaik told the court he became aware of the fax only a year later when its contents were published in newspapers.

He said when he told the court about the Mauritius meeting he had worked "on the assumption that the fax was in the public domain".

He denied the French had informed him about the fax and said they had kept the details of the fax away from him. Earlier the court turned down a request by the State to allow it to proceed with its questions as if Deputy President Jacob Zuma will give evidence.

The request by Downer triggered a five-minute whispered conversation between Kessie Naidu SC and Mohamed Patel, who were involved in compiling Zuma's answers to questions asked in the investigation.

Shaik told the court there was no link between an alleged agreement to bribe Zuma, contained in a fax, and a donation to Zuma's Education Trust, even though letters written before and after the fax had everything to do with the donation.

Shaik has pleaded not guilty to two charges of corruption and one of fraud.

He told the court that he was still in the dark about why a former South African director of Thomson, Alain Thetard, wrote the fax.

"You say only God will know why Thetard wrote this?" Billy Downer SC exclaimed.

"I have tried to obtain an explanation," Shaik said before indicating that he meant that he went to Paris twice to try to speak to Thetard but to no avail.

"He (Thetard) said it had nothing to do with the Jacob Zuma Education Trust?" Downer commented.

Shaik answered yes.

"Why are you only telling us this now?" Downer asked.

"My memory was only jogged now," Shaik replied.

Downer started his questions by concentrating on the other two alleged parties to the bribe - Thetard and Zuma.

Downer: Thetard would not come and give evidence.

Shaik: I really wish he would come as well.

Downer: Zuma can help us.

Shaik: Yes.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and the Cape Argus.

*1 One can be quite sure he was telling the truth the first time.