Damages for man raped in police cell

THE Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered that a Port Elizabeth man should receive R200 000 in damages and nine years of interest after he was raped in police holding cells following an arrest for drunken driving.

The court found on Friday that the man should have been released on bail on the night he was arrested and that he had been kept in custody only because of a miscommunication between the Mount Road and Walmer police stations.

The court agreed that the man had been a bad witness and had been determined to show the police in a bad light, but that did not mean his claims should be dismissed.

The man, whose identity is being protected as he is the victim of a sex crime, was raped in 2009 while he was in police custody. He sued the police, claiming that they had not ensured his safety.

His case was initially dismissed in the Port Elizabeth High Court.

The man was arrested on Saturday, October 10 2009, for driving under the influence, reckless and negligent driving and failing to stop after an accident.

He drove into the boundary wall of a house in Korsten and tried to drive away, leaving his injured passengers behind.

He was arrested and detained at the Mount Road police station and later moved to the Walmer police station.

His wife was told he could be released on bail of R500.

There was apparently a miscommunication, however, and when his wife arrived to pay his bail she was told no decision on releasing him had been taken.

He was kept in custody for the rest of the weekend and was raped by fellow prisoners early on the Monday morning.

He was released on bail of R500 that morning and the charges against him were eventually withdrawn.

The man had been told by another detainee that there was a plan to harm him.

He told two police officers about this, and asked to be placed in a different cell.

The police conceded that the attack had taken place.

The court found the police had been negligent in not releasing the man on bail and had not kept him in a cell away from persons detained for violent crimes.