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Man arrested for asking cops to move |
| 'He told me to pay the lawyer R1 500' NKOSINATHI Shezi spent two nights in jail for asking police officers to give him the right of way on a visit to his brother at the Diepkloof hostel in Soweto. Not only did he spend the time in jail, but police allegedly asked him to pay a bribe of R1 500 for his freedom despite the weak case against him. Shezi's troubles worsened when he discovered that his cellphone and R2 000 which he had booked in for safekeeping were missing. His cellphone was found but there is no sign of the cash. Yesterday he opened a case of theft against the police. Police spokesman Captain Philemon Khorombi confirmed that Shezi was arrested but said the charges were dropped because the case was too weak. The incident not only left Shezi traumatised, but he could not even report for work on Monday. It all started on Saturday afternoon when Shezi visited his brother at the Diepkloof hostel, where he found a group of about 10 police officers sitting in the road having cooldrinks. Shezi, who was with three friends in the car, stopped next to the officers and asked if they could move out of the road so he could drive through. He didn't know they were policemen because they were in plainclothes. "They pointed big guns at us and told us they were working. I said to them: 'Even if you are cops you have no right to block the road. We just want to drive through'," Shezi said. He claims the officers were annoyed by this and hurled insults at them, and one of them poured a cold drink he had been drinking on their faces. "I don't know what type of cold drink it was, but it burnt my eyes," recounted Shezi. Eventually he managed to drive past. On his way back he found the officers still there. One of them took pictures of him with a cellphone, so Shezi took out his cellphone and took pictures of the officer. Five police officers then manhandled Shezi, while others searched his pockets and took his wallet, containing R2 000, and a cellphone. Shezi was pushed into the back of a van and taken to the Diepkloof police station, where he was arrested on charges of crimen injuria, resisting arrest and interference. "I don't know why they claimed I resisted arrest because I was not even handcuffed," said an angry Shezi. He claimed that just before he was released, an investigating officer, whose name is known to The Star, came to the holding cells at the Orlando Magistrate's Court and told him he had organised with a lawyer to help him drop the charges. "He told me to pay the lawyer R1 500, but I refused." Upon hearing that, the officer made an about-turn, telling Shezi there was no case against him. He was then released. Khorombi said an internal investigation would be conducted once Shezi had spoken to the branch commander. By Solly Maphumulo The Star 26/02/10e4 Click here to respond to this article - Your responses will get vetted and printed on "Have your Say" |
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