Top cop 'tortured' for 30
hours in cell
25 Mar
2013 | unknown
THIRTY hours of alleged torture in a filthy
Pretoria holding cell could see one of Port Elizabeth's top detectives quit
after 26 years on the force.
INHUMAN:
Cornelius Pettit
Lawyers
for Hawks Captain Cornelius Pettit, who has been behind some of the biggest
criminal busts in Eastern Cape, said this week he had been treated in such an
inhumane manner that he no longer wanted to be associated with the South African
police.
Pettit,
45, was arrested while working undercover in Pretoria earlier this month. He
and his informant were meeting suspected illegal gold dealers in Sunnyside when
Pretoria police swooped.
While he
and his informant were detained, the police let the real suspects go.
Pettit's
lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, alleges that during Pettit's detention the police
brutally assaulted him, refused to feed him and stole almost R20000 he had in
his possession.
Pettit,
who was recently commended by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa for refusing a
R2-million bribe in a drug bust, has since received medical treatment for
injuries to his arms. He has been booked off work and is seeking psychiatric
treatment.
Sunnyside
police also allegedly told the 20 other detainees in Pettit's cell that he was
a police officer, which placed his life in danger.
According
to Griebenow, when Pettit pleaded with his arresting officer to contact his
unit commander in Port Elizabeth to clear up the situation, the officer refused
and instead subjected him to more abuse.
Sunnyside
police and Mthethwa's office did not respond. - Kathryn Kimberley
