Police take flak for ‘less than thorough’ probe into deaths of psychiatric patients
Section 27 advocate Adila Hassim asked whether the police could have acted sooner when investigating the deaths of patients transferred to NGOs
Police came under fire on Thursday for their "less than thorough" investigation into the deaths of psychiatric patients who died in the Life Esidimeni transfer debacle. Senior police officer Maj-Gen Charles Johnson testified at the arbitration hearing on Thursday and listed a number of obstacles in investigating the cause of death in the 127 cases his investigating team was dealing with. Adila Hassim‚ advocate for Section 27‚ which represents families of 55 of the deceased‚ asked Johnson whether it was not imperative that the bodies be exhumed in order to establish what caused their deaths. Johnson said the police would‚ on conclusion of their investigation‚ be guided by the pathologists and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regarding the feasibility of exhuming the bodies to determine the cause of death. "How do you investigate‚ and how do you determine to the best of your ability the cause of death if the body has been interred for more than a year and, as time passes, the ...
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