Police 'were party poopers'
17/07/2007 17:45  - (SA)  

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Cape Town - The Public Protector has ruled that police must compensate a Northern Cape man whose liquor they confiscated and then "destroyed" ahead of his 21st birthday party.

"The man was planning a 21st birthday party when police seized his alcohol for further investigation.

The police had confiscated the liquor because they suspected the man was planning to sell it without a licence.

"When the investigation found that it was indeed for a 21st birthday party, the State declined to prosecute and wrote on the docket that the alcohol should be returned to the suspect."

However, a police director had ordered the liquor not be returned, but destroyed instead.

The man - from Galeshewe, outside Kimberley - then approached the Public Protector, who launched an investigation. This found that while the seizure of the alcohol was justified, its destruction was not.

"The alcohol should have been returned to the suspect as per the instruction of the prosecutor, and proper procedures for destruction were not followed," the Public Protector said.

Contacted for more detail, spokesperson for the Public Protector's office, Charles Phahlane, told Sapa a "variety of alcoholic products... about 50 cases of alcohol" had been seized and destroyed by the police.

He said it was up to the police to decide whether they would follow the Public Protector's recommendation and compensate the man, but if they did not do so, the matter could be referred to Parliament for possible further action.

- SAPA

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