Vlakfontein man claims cops assaulted him after arresting him for burying girlfriend in shack
The man cannot be identified because he has not made his first court appearance.
Picture: iStock
A man accused of killing his girlfriend and burying her in a shallow grave inside his Vlakfontein shack claims that police assaulted him.
The 28-year-old man was sent to a doctor for a medical examination, said Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko said outside the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The man cannot be identified because he has not made his first court appearance.
“The investigating officer has taken him to see a doctor to establish [whether] he had been assaulted or not.
“It is well-known that suspects arrested for serious crimes often allege that they had been tortured by police upon their arrests,” said Mazibuko.
Gauteng police found the woman’s body on Sunday. They received a tip-off from the woman’s friend who was worried after she hadn’t seen her friend in nearly two months.
“For now, we are establishing if the suspect is linked to other serious crimes. We have been informed that the suspect confessed to his friends that he has killed more people.
“However, he has not confessed to the police about killing more people. Our officers are working hard to ensure that indeed he committed more murders,” said Mazibuko.
She said officials had established that the man was wanted for an assault case in KwaZulu-Natal.
The discovery of the woman’s body comes less than a year after the gruesome discovery of seven people under a pile of sand in a house in the same area.
On October 29, 2018, police discovered seven members of the Khoza family – three women and four children – buried in the bedroom of the house.
Fita Khupe and Ernest Mabaso were arrested for the murders and faced seven counts of murder and possession of stolen property.
Mabaso committed suicide in his police cell in January after he was moved to the Cape Town Central police station.
The State withdrew charges against Khupe after it failed to find a way forward in the case following Mabaso’s death.
Mazibuko has appealed to anyone who might know the victim, who is from QwaQwa, to contact Lenasia South police.
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