Durban - Details of an attack, allegedly at the hands of uniformed officers, were heard during the assault trial of three men in the Durban Regional Court on Wednesday.
Constable Yogandran Munsami, Warrant Officer Jerry Abraham and Sergeant Aniel Dawlat have pleaded not guilty to all charges before magistrate Fariedha Mohamed.
The officers have been charged with three counts of assault and defeating the ends of the justice in connection with the December 2011 incident.
Morganathan Naidoo, Sadhasivan Maistry and Noel Sebastian - who live in separate homes on a family plot in Chatsworth - are suing the Minister of Police for damages.
Naidoo said he was outside his relative’s home when he saw six uniformed police officers charging towards him. He had been slapped and kicked on the back of his head and searched.
He claimed he knew Munsami’s name prior to the incident as they had had an argument at a Chatsworth funfair earlier that year.
During his cross-examination, advocate Paul Jorgensen asked Naidoo why he had told the internal police inquiry he had found out Munsami’s name after the incident.
Naidoo said he had been “intimidated” but had no explanation for the discrepancy.
Jorgensen said several police officers had searched the property on the day of the alleged assault as the plot was a popular “drug den”.
Both Naidoo and Maistry denied this. Sebastian is still to testify.
The case was adjourned to November.
The Mercury