I never feared for my life, says Thatcher

[emad]

IOL
Karyn Maughan
January 17 2005 at 11:57AM

Sir Mark Thatcher has dismissed weekend media claims that he left South Africa because his life could have come under threat as "completely untrue".

Speaking to the Cape Argus from Europe on Sunday, Thatcher expressed dissatisfaction over statements made in a Sunday newspaper by Scorpions spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.

Ngwema was quoted as saying that it was "better" for Thatcher to have left South Africa after concluding his plea agreement with prosecuting authorities on Thursday - because his life may have been under threat if he had stayed.

In the plea agreement, Thatcher pleaded guilty to attempting to finance the purchase of a helicopter that would have been used in a botched Equatorial Guinea coup, but claimed that he done so recklessly and without intention.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20050117105737536C525463