The Durban High Court has been left to decide whether Schabir Shaik's tax returns can be used against him in his trial for alleged fraud and corruption.

The state already has in its possession an affidavit from Rob Reid, an employee at the Receiver of Revenue's office in Durban.

However, Peter Olsen SC, who represents both the Commissioner of the SA Revenue Service (SARS) and Reid, told the court on Monday that Reid contravened the Income Tax Act when giving his statement.

The evidence in question relates to tax evasion and misrepresentation of financial records, the alternative to a count of fraud against Shaik and his Nkobi Group of companies.

Olsen said Reid had "unwittingly" breached section four of the act, which relates to confidentiality, and that the proper policy had not been followed in giving out information.

He said Reid came to be under "certain impressions" which led him to divulge information to the state.

Reid was under the impression that an offence had been committed, that SARS had decided to prosecute, and that he was therefore obliged to give information to the state, said Olsen.

He said information could only be given in two exceptional circumstances:

Shaik's advocate, Francois van Zyl SC, said he supported Olsen fully and that his client did not consent to the evidence as requested by the state.

Van Zyl said the decision to lodge action in the case of a tax offence lay with the commissioner.

Presiding judge Hillary Squires said he would make a ruling as soon as possible.

Earlier on Monday, the court heard testimony from Tracy O'Brien, who sublet a flat to Shaik in 1996.

She said Shaik told her the flat was to be used for his financial director Colin Isaacs.

O'Brien said she wrote a letter to Shaik in June 1997 because the rent was again overdue and someone new had moved into the flat.

She said the body corporate of Mellington (sic - Malington) told her that "some type of VIP was living in the building" because he had lots of bodyguards with guns going in and out of the building.

She later learned that the VIP was Deputy President Jacob Zuma, kwaZulu-Natal's economic affairs and tourism MEC at the time.

O'Brien said the rent was always late and "when I got frustrated I just got hold of Jacob Zuma".

She said payments eventually came in the form of cheques from different companies, which she believed were subsidiaries of Nkobi Holdings.

O'Brien also told the court she decided to sell the furniture in the flat, which Shaik was interested in buying.

She said she was under the impression it was for Zuma's house in Zululand. Although an agreement was reached that the furniture could only be removed once the money was in her bank account, the furniture was taken without her permission and she never received any money for it *1.

Van Zyl said Shaik had been told by the Minister of Intelligence that there had been several attempts on Zuma's life and when Isaacs moved out of the flat, Zuma, who was already living in the building, moved into that apartment.

The case continues.

With acknowledgement to Wendy Jasson da Costa and Sapa.

*1 The common and common law term for such a phenomenon is theft.

The common law in this regard does not derive from Lex Aquila, but from one of the ten commandments etched onto Moses's stone tablet during that turning point of legal history. Or is that: defining point of legal history?

Simplistic Common Law 1

*2 The Lex Aquilia, first promulgated in 286 BC by the Tribune of the Plebians Aquilius,  is considered to be the historical antecedent of much modern criminal and tort law, including the relevant parts of the Roman Law on which South African Law is partly based.

Note :  Exam Tip - if one can remember this, its regurgitation without crib notes or the use of Google and a long-range BlueToothTM earphone during the next High Voltage Law exam at the Sultin Institute of Cryptography will earn at least two percentage points (passmark 50% - ten minste).