A conman - who has allegedly extorted money from women by claiming links to an alleged illegal abortion racket - has been nabbed following an undercover investigation by Eyewitness News.
The man, who identified himself to the team only as Gift, was arrested after he was filmed taking money from Primedia's pregnant group editor-in-chief, Katy Katopodis, on the pretext of arranging an illegal abortion for her at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital or Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital.
The investigation, conducted by Eyewitness News reporter Mandy Wiener over a week-long period, began when she responded to several Daily Sun adverts for abortions.
Of the "15 or so" advertisers she called, four indicated that they were prepared to carry out an abortion on a woman who was more than six months pregnant.
In terms of South African law, women may have abortions up until three months, and up until five months if they have a valid medical reason for the procedure to be performed, such as a detected birth defect. Beyond this stage the foetus is considered viable, and a termination of pregnancy is no longer a legal option.
Wiener initially made contact with a man named Moosa, who agreed to meet her and Katopodis at the Bree Street taxi rank. He offered Katopodis tablets for R1 000 and instructed her to go home, swallow three and crush the remaining seven tablets and insert them into her vagina. This would cause her to abort.
Wiener and Katopodis, again purporting to be a concerned woman, and her unhappily pregnant friend then met "Gift" at the Carlton Centre, where they had a one-hour interview. He told them he could either offer them the pill option or, if Katopodis preferred, he could arrange for a medical procedure as he was connected to a network of doctors, gynaecologists and nurses who he could pay.
"So that's why I'm telling you this because that one is damned expensive," he is heard telling Katopodis in a recording she made.
He continues: "They are all in the system. This is South Africa, everything is possible with money."
Wiener said that once they were given the terms of the deal, they obtained legal advice.
"We then decided to pursue the matter because our lawyers agreed that our actions would not constitute entrapment, and so we progressed as though we were planning to go ahead with the abortion," Wiener said.
She said the idea at this stage was to find out whether illegal abortions were in fact being conducted at the city's two largest government hospitals.
"If there was in fact a syndicate in operation, we needed to know and do something to stop it."
The two women met Gift on two more occasions and paid him for the procedure. Katopodis declined to divulge how much money was handed over, saying only that it was "more than R1 000".
It was agreed that Katopodis would be checked into Charlotte Maxeke under a false name as a patient threatening miscarriage.
Wiener then made contact with the police, and an undercover team was placed in the hospital last Thursday night, when Katopodis was supposed to be booked in.
But Gift called to delay, saying his contact was not on duty and they needed to reschedule.
The two women met him again on Friday night outside the hospital's casualty section. They followed him to a nearby garage, where he introduced them to a shabbily dressed man he claimed was a gynaecologist.
"At this stage we realised it was con," Wiener said.
The police arrived and arrested Gift. Wiener said a search of his home led to more arrests of people found in possession of drugs. Police also found muti and a number of pamphlets advertising the services of African herbalists and traditional healers.
After his arrest, Gift told Wiener he was from Uganda and was studying for a BSc at Unisa. He admitted he did not know anyone at the hospital and had been "just trying some things to see if it can work out for me".
He said he made a living by buying smashed cars, fixing them and selling them for a profit.
He claimed he had not arranged any abortions, and had provided women wanting abortion pills with his own ulcer medication.
Katopodis's gynaecologist said ulcer medication taken by a pregnant woman could in fact cause the womb to contract and bring on early labour.
The man is expected to appear in court soon.
