BLOEMFONTEIN - Charges against former G4S employee Motanyane Masukela -- accused Number Five in the Thabo Bester escape trial -- have been withdrawn.

The state confirmed this during a pretrial hearing underway at the High Court in Bloemfontein.

Thabo Bester and his remaining co-accused are back in the dock.

The trial is scheduled to begin next month, but the proceedings could hit yet another snag.

This high-profile matter has already faced several postponements due to defence requests for more evidence.

This article was first published by SABC News