Cop bailed after pickaxe attack

2008-06-03 21:00

Kimberley - A policeman accused of beating a colleague with a pickaxe handle was released on R500 bail by the magistrate's court on Tuesday, said the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).

The case was postponed to allow investigators to obtain statements from witnesses and for a decision on whether to prosecute, the ICD said in a statement. It could not provide the postponement date.

Inspector F Molete apparently kept the keys to a police car during an argument about money with a colleague who accompanied him to his home on May 29.

The second policeman, Inspector Johannes Makame, later returned to fetch the keys with other colleagues from the Kagisho police station, in Galeshewe.

The ICD said: "It is alleged that Molete came up the street and went to the garage where his car was parked and took a pick handle from the boot.

"It is alleged that he then went straight to the victim and hit him on the head with the pick handle. The victim was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries."

Molete was not immediately arrested, but was detained on Tuesday when the ICD received the complaint, it said.

He faces charges of attempted murder and theft.

- SAPA