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Mohammed Ebrahim, the suspect in the Miguel Louw murder case, was described as devious and calculating in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
"He is highly intelligent and has a strong presence of mind. He has a violent and dishonest propensity," said prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay in closing arguments for the 43-year-old's bail application.
"He has been untruthful from day one," Pillay said.
She highlighted that on July 17, the day Louw went missing, the boy's mother contacted Ebrahim asking if he had seen him.
"He never told the mother he was with the child and had taken him to KFC."
She said that he lied about his whereabouts that night and said he had been home from 20:00.
"However, cellphone records show him in various parts of Phoenix that night."
'Flight risk'
Pillay added that he was a flight risk as he was "nomadic".
"He has no immovable property and lives in a Wendy house on his father's property. He lived away from that home for a year. We believe that if granted bail, he would attempt to abscond."
She added that despite claiming he was the breadwinner at home, Ebrahim's family did not rely on him.
"Both parents receive an old age pension and his father runs a profitable tailoring business. His sister also lives on the property and contributes to the home."
Pillay said that his employment history at Emam Bux was also sketchy. She said his claims of two and a half years of unbroken service employment history at the butcher were false.
She said that Ebrahim's superior indicated he worked intermittently.
'Nowhere to run and hide'
Ebrahim's lawyer, Chris Gounden, was repeatedly criticised by Magistrate Sifiso Ntuli for failing to raise valid points during his closing arguments.
Gounden proposed that Ebrahim would not evade trial because he respected the law.
"He was out on bail between September and December and he attended court. He had ample to run away."
He added that there were numerous pictures and stories about Ebrahim on social media, meaning he could not evade trial.
"There is nowhere he can run and hide. The community are following the matter, they know how he looks. Every time he appears in court his picture is on social media. It is easy to detect him, if he decides to flee."
Ntuli will hand down his decision on Friday morning.
