‘Impossible for accused to leave the cells’

THE trial of the three men accused of killing criminal lawyer Pete Mihalik continued in the Western Cape High Court where further evidence on the credibility of a statement taken by Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear was heard in court.

Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti are charged with the murder of Mihalik, who was shot and killed while dropping off his two children at Reddam House School in Green Point on October 30, 2018.

State advocate Greg Wolmarans yesterday called another police officer stationed at the Cape Town Central police station to give clarity on how police deal with detainees while they are in custody.

Shift commander Udesh Singh said it was “impossible” for Khumalo to leave the cells without his knowledge after they were taken into custody on October 30, 2018 because it did not reflect in the occurrence book.

“The purpose of detention is not to intimidate or ill-treat the person. Our primary aim is we want to make sure that the suspect in custody is not taken advantage of or ill-treated in any way,” Singh said.

Wolmarans put to Singh Khumalo’s version that he was beaten up on a number of occasions, including being hit in the face by police officers while he was in custody.

Singh said any person with injuries would not be allowed in the cells because the commander has to ensure that the injured person receives medical treatment before placing him in the cells.

He testified that he would have to be informed if they were taken out of the cells for “investigative” purposes, but in this instance none of that occurred.

Khumalo via his lawyer disputed the warning statement, claiming that the document was placed in front of him and he was forced to sign while he was “very afraid” and did so without having sight of the contents.