A Durban man who had sex with a local male doctor, then blackmailed him with video evidence in order to extort money, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Friday.
Zaid Alli Hoosain, 32, coerced a prominent Chatsworth doctor, 37, into having sexual relations with him and subsequently made recordings of their lovemaking sessions. He used the recordings to extort more than R400 000 from the doctor by threatening to tell his family about his sexuality and to ruin his career.
The doctor, who belongs to
a prominent family, and wanted to keep his tryst with Hoosain private, acceded to the accused’s weekly demands for money, for about a year.
Alli was arrested by police in February 2015 after the doctor lodged a formal case against him. Hoosain and the doctor first met near the Virginia Airport before spending time at Hoosain’s flat in Morningside. After their session of lovemaking, Hoosainasked the doctor to leave his flat, and made the threat to ruin his career and family life.
Hoosain also demanded a non-disclosure of the payments. He pleaded guilty to threatening and extorting money from four people from 2013, using the same modus operandi. Hoosain also had previous convictions for theft, robbery and extortion.
He was sentenced in the Durban Regional Court to seven years imprisonment for extortion and a further one year each for two separate counts of assault.
The sentences will run concurrently. Hoosain’s attorney, Amith Luckan, confirmed the sentencing and said his client was considering appealing the decision.
When contacted for comment, the doctor said he was happy with the court outcome but was not prepared to comment further.
