J Arthur Brown is not well liked. When the Fidentia boss was allegedly sexually assaulted while being transported from the Cape Town Magistrate's Court to Pollsmoor prison there wasn't an outpouring of sympathy.

In fact some victims of his financial dealings wrote to newspapers saying this was just retribution because he had been screwing pensioners for years.

Whether Brown is a worse offender than the corrupt fraudster Schabir Shaik is a matter the courts may decide if and when he is sentenced. However, there is a marked discrepancy in they way the two are being treated by officialdom.

The man who first suggested medical parole for Shaik says Jacob Zuma's financial adviser is not very ill. Yet Shaik is living in relative comfort at Albert Luthuli hospital. Brown, by contrast, has been refused permission for a transfer from prison hospital to a private clinic.

Some are more deserving than others. Derrick Mdluli, chairman of the Justice for Prisoners and Detainees Trust, says Shaik is receiving special treatment because of his links to senior ANC politicians. Who would argue *1.

With acknowledgements to The Citizen.