DURBAN - THE INDEPENDENT Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating a case of death in police custody after a suspect was found hanged in a holding cell in Durban on Tuesday.
Ipid spokesperson, Grace Langa, said police arrested the 25-year-old man after he went to the Inanda police station around 5pm.
“The man was shouting that his family wanted to kill him. He claimed that they assaulted him and was bleeding from his finger. He was incoherent and police could not interview him,” Langa said.
She said the man was allegedly highly intoxicated.
The man was not wearing a mask and police officers asked him to wear a mask.
“The man got very rude and wanted to fight the officers. The officers managed to get him into a temporary cell to process him for refusing to wear a mask and for causing a disturbance inside the police station,” she said.
Langa said when officers went back to check on the man, he was hanging by his belt.
He was alone in the cell and certified dead by KZN medics.
She said Ipid investigators have processed the scene. She added that investigations are ongoing.
IOL