Two more escape from Noupoort
2003-10-29 21:46
Cindy Preller
Noupoort - Another two young men, covered with sores and bruises from alleged abuse, escaped from the Noupoort Christian Care Centre (NCCC) on Wednesday while police arrested the three staff members in charge of the detention camp for the alleged assault of Thomas Wernars, 18.
Wernars broke the door of his "cage" from its frame on Friday to escape the detention camp because he wanted to "prepare for his matric exam".
In the latest escape, Handre Coleman, 19, and Sergio de Freitas, 20, broke down the doors while nobody was watching.
Coleman said two other NCCC patients, one of them a minor, were too afraid to escape and elected to stay in the detention camp.
Coleman said he was at the NCCC for two weeks before he ran away to Cape Town. He was later persuaded to return. On his return, he was taken to the detention camp.
"I still had withdrawal symptoms for the first few days at the detention camp, but was only given a blanket to sleep on. They forced me to do heavy labour.
"I also had to exercise on the obstacle course twice a day while I was sick. One falls on the barbed wire when one is tired," Coleman said.
He said he spent nine days in the camp, but that De Freitas had been locked up for more than 24 days.
He allegedly heard how staff members assaulted De Freitas.
"I was afraid when I heard the screams. We were treated like dogs. If you did not keep up with the exercises, the officials gave the other patients more exercises and they would then beat you afterwards," he claimed.
De Freitas did not want to comment on Wednesday because the NCCC management allegedly intimidated him at the police station.
Coleman and De Freitas filed assault charges with police on Wednesday. They are being temporarily housed at another rehabilitation centre in Noupoort.
Three detention camp officials, all rehabilitated patients, are being held in police cells in Noupoort.
Sophocles Nissiotis said on Tuesday that he was no longer willing to comment.
- Die Burger