Beaten, Suffocated, Forced To Lie!' - Joshlin Case Accused Drops Bombshell In Court
Jacquen Boeta Appollis, a central figure in the Joshlin Smith case, told the Western Cape High Court on Friday that police allegedly subjected him to torture and intimidation, pressuring him into giving a false statement.
As the boyfriend of Joshlin's mother and the last person known to have seen the six-year-old before she disappeared, Appollis claimed officers beat him, covered his head with a black bag to suffocate him, and forced him to accuse another suspect, Maka Lima, during an interrogation at the Sea Border offices in Saldanha.He described being restrained, wrapped in a flag, and assaulted by multiple officers.
The Xhosa man was standing in front of me as my head was hanging. He had a black bag in his hands. He asked me, 'Do you know Jesus?', I told him, 'Yes', and then he put a black bag over my head. As the black bag was over my head, he told me I must nod or shake my head if I wanted to speak.
Watch the proceedings below Courtesy of SABC News
I couldn't breathe, so I shook my head and the bag was taken off and I told them I don't know where Joshlin is. As I told them I don't know where Joshlin is, I was hit with battens on my knees, feet and hands. I was also smacked on my face. The Coloured man with a beard hit hard on my face, but I don't know with what. I became dizzy, he said.