The family of a man who died in police custody last week, says he was a dental technician who was trying to sell his old cellphones.
Retreat resident, 37-year-old Nadeem Khan, who worked at Hope Street Dental Clinic, died at the Rondebosch police station on November 3.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesman Moses Dlamini confirmed an investigation was under way into Nadeem’s death.
He said the police had received a tip-off that Khan had been selling cellphones outside a shopping centre close to the police station.
When the police arrived on the scene at about 6pm, they had arrested Nadeem, handcuffing him and throwing him into the back of a police van.
He says at the station, cops observed Nadeem was hyperventilating and struggling to breathe.
“Paramedics were called and they declared (him) dead,” said Dlamini.
Nadeem’s older brother, Dr Amiem Khan, said they were shocked by his death.
“My brother was only selling his two old iPhones because he had bought himself a new one,” the doctor tells the Cape Argus.
“We couldn’t understand why police had to beat him up as a criminal for selling his phones.
“His body had bruises all over, especially his face, which shows that he was surely beaten up.”
“We are trying to figure out what might be the cause of his death because he had no medical issues.”