The man accused of the murder of Durban escort Siam Lee laughed in court as he heard he would be moved to the Westville Prison ahead of his application for bail next month.

The 29-year-old businessman‚ who cannot be named as he faces charges of rape‚ stood before Regional Court Magistrate Mohamed Motala on Tuesday.

The man had previously requested a move from the holding cells at Durban North police station‚ alleging that he was tortured.

“You’ll be pleased to know you’ll be going to Westville‚” Motala said.

The man grinned and chortled‚ apparently happy with his new housing arrangement. The well-known figure in the petrochemical industry was apprehended by private investigator Brad Nathanson two weeks after Lee disappeared in the first week of January.

During his last appearance on Friday‚ the state added an additional batch of charges relating to the kidnapping and rape of another woman.

Lee had last been seen on January 4‚ outside a Durban North house that was operating as a brothel. While the search for her spanned the province‚ the charred remains of a woman were found in a sugarcane field in New Hanover two days later.

The remains were later positively identified as the 20-year-old by her relatives‚ although DNA tests to unequivocally identify her have not yet been completed by police.

In the wake of Nathanson’s swoop on the suspect’s Assagay home‚ west of Durban‚ police confirmed that a gun as well as the car understood to have been used in Lee’s alleged abduction had been recovered.