DURBAN: A South African cop has been
remanded into custody for attempting to murder 12 people of
Indian-origin.
The police officer, who faces 12 counts of attempt to murder, was
brought to the Pietermaritzburg court following an incident at the weekend when
he shot at a vehicle with 12 Indian-origin people, who apparently were members
of a classical dance troupe.
The incident took place when the
officer, a guard of KwaZulu-Natal minister of social welfare Mechack Hadebe, was
speeding on the national road between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. He flashed
the blue lights on his vehicle hoping to get the vehicles in front of him to
move aside.
A police vehicle in front moved aside but another
vehicle, with 12 passengers could not pull to the side because they were passing
a truck. The passengers included twin brothers Nireshan and Niveshan
Moonsamy(17), who are Bharatnatyam dancers.
Police spokesperson
Vincent Mdunge said in an interview that as soon as the car passed the truck,
the officer pulled out a gun and shot the tyres of the vehicle.
"The
driver lost control and the Mazda collided with another vehicle. The officer
sped off," Mdunge said adding that
The Moonsamy twins along with
classical dancer Yshrene Govender and other passengers were injured in the
incident.
"This is not how responsible individuals should behave. It
seems we are living in the wild West. Action must be taken against the person
involved," father of the twins Colin Moonsamy said.
"We have taken
into account that these officers are well trained but we cannot excuse the
conduct of the officer in the accident. He has to face the full might of the
law," Mdunge said.
