Police to pay man R110 000 for assault with plastic glove
21 December 2012 8:48
A Port Elizabeth High Court
has ordered the minister of police to pay R110 000 in damages to a man for
invasion of privacy and assault.
The judgment related to a
case involving Thobela Julius Funde, whose home at Kwadwesi in Port Elizabeth
was raided, and he was assaulted by two police officers five years ago, The
Star reported.
The officers claimed they
went to Funde’s home at midnight to search for dagga after receiving a tip-off.
During the raid, his wife
and child were sent to another room in the house, and Funde was handcuffed and
made to lie down on the floor.
One of the officers produced a plastic glove and put it over Funde’s
head, with the result that he could not breathe. He
lost consciousness and the glove was taken off and he was revived with water.
The process was repeated
and continued for between 30 minutes to an hour.
He was also pushed down,
causing the handcuffs to hurt his wrists.
He spent a long weekend in
jail then opened an assault case.
The court found Funde’s
version more reliable and that the officers’ action was a serious invasion of
privacy, and the assault severe.
The judgment must be sent
to the minister of police and to the police’s national commissioner.
- Sapa
