Pretoria - Taxpayers will have to dig into their pockets to pay R70 000 to a male nurse, who was locked up in a police cell for 16 hours after they mistook him to be part of a gang that robbed a garage in Pretoria West.
Sello Teme, a nurse at the Zuid- Afrikaanse Hospital in Pretoria, initially instituted a R250 000 damages claim against the police in the high court in Pretoria following his ordeal in the early hours of January 10, 2011.
He and four of his friends were arrested at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville, as they left a club.
Teme, 48, said he and his friends were made to lie on the ground and armed police trampled on him with booted feet, causing him injury.
They were later detained for about 16 hours.
Teme said his arrest was humiliating, as it happened in public.
He said five hours after he was detained, he was told that it was in connection with a garage robbery.
He and his friends were later released, without ever being formally charged.
Teme said it was a traumatising experience during which he was humiliated and degraded.
His friend Lucky Mashego, who was arrested with him that morning, also instituted a damages claim and was awarded R70 000.
The police said they received a complaint about a robbery at an Engen Garage in West Park.
They were shown CCTV footage of suspects wearing gloves.
The faces of the robbers could not be seen on the footage as they were wearing balaclavas at the time of the crime.
A petrol attendant said the robbers fled in a silver grey Mercedes-Benz, while another eye witness said they fled in a black car.
The police later stopped a suspect vehicle in Maunde Street in Atteridgeville.
When they noticed gloves in the boot, they decided that they had the culprits.
When it later emerged that there was nothing to link the suspects to the robbery, they were freed without any charges being brought against them.
Acting Judge VRSN Nkosi said the police failed in their duty to ensure that they arrested the correct suspects.
Pretoria News