A man from Kuils River says he is disappointed about the way they were treated at Belhar Police Station.
According to Yandile Kunana he received a call from his sister-in-law residing in Belhar that her life was threatened inside her property by a group of men.
“I then called Belhar Police Station while I was preparing to leave from Kuils River to attend to the matter. A phone was answered by a constable who then said there’s no manpower nor a vehicle to attend to the call out, then the phone was dropped. I tried seven times to call but no answer. I attended to my sister in-law’s problem and then went to the police station,” says Kunana.
Officer in charge
Outside the police station he bumped into the constable in charge.
“I requested to see the senior ranking officer in charge only to find that I was talking to the person in charge. I told him about the phone that is not being answered and I called the phone in front of him. The phone was ringing but it was quiet and I asked him why is the phone not ringing aloud. He could not answer me, but went and un-muted the phone,” says Kunana.
Person smoking in station
Kunana says when he went inside he saw a civilian suspect who appeared to be drunk.
“He was sitting on top of the desk as they were charging him. Another civilian was smoking just inside the office as she was standing at the door. The visibility inside was also poor, because only two of the five lights were working. When I asked what was happening, I did not get answers. I now understand why civilians have no respect for the police,” says a shocked Kunana.
Speak to the commander
TygerBurger approached the provincial police for comment on the poor service at Belhar.
“Kindly request your concerned sources to arrange a meeting with the station commander of Belhar to discuss their concerns with the one who is in a position to assist them. It is not wise to inform sources who cannot answer their questions. Their concerns could have been attended to the moment they felt irritated by the allegation of poor service,” said Joseph Swartbooi, provincial police spokesperson.
