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Taliep accused 'sought deal'
21/04/2008 22:05 - (SA)
Cape Town - One of Taliep Petersen's alleged murderers has told the Cape High Court he confessed to a role in the killing in the hope of getting "help" from the authorities in other criminal cases he faced.
Waheed Hassen also told the court that he was assaulted by police, and that he witnessed the beating of an armed robbery suspect in police holding cells.
He took the stand on Monday on the second day of the trial within a trial in which he is disputing the admissibility of statements he made to police.
Hassen said one of the group of about 20 policemen who took him into custody at his Belhar home in June last year handcuffed him, then trod on the cuffs as he was put into a double cab bakkie.
"Inside the vehicle they said to me: 'you're going to shit, you must talk'," he said.
The police in the bakkie put a black plastic bag over his head so he could not breathe, and hit him on the back and ribs.
Hassen said that over the next few days he was questioned about the entertainer's death, and when it appeared that investigators were trying to involve his wife, he said he would co-operate with them.
Help with outstanding cases
The co-ordinator of the investigation, Superintendent Godfrey Wagter, also promised that if he talked, the authorities could help with two outstanding cases against him - one of possession of perlemoen and the other possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
It was for this reason that he made a sworn statement on June 20, admitting involvement in Taliep's death.
After making the statement, he was taken down to holding cells where he saw police assaulting a man who had been arrested for armed robbery.
The man's arms were cuffed behind his back, and the police jammed a tyre over his bent-over body so his buttocks protruded behind, and hit him.
Hassen said he thought it was only coincidence that he witnessed the assault, and that he was not supposed to see it.
Denied making promises
Earlier on Monday, Wagter took the stand and denied that he made Hassen any promises.
Nor did Hassen ever say he had been assaulted or injured.
The court also watched a police video showing Hassen being questioned by Superintendent Deon Spangenberg, commander of the police's Khayelitsha detective branch, preparatory to making the June 20 statement.
Hassen, Petersen's wife Najwa, Abdoer Emjedi and Jefferson Snyders have all pleaded not guilty to the December 2006 execution-style killing.
The hearing continues on Tuesday.
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