A Kensington skollie accused of murdering a traffic officer who had arrested him has claimed that cops moered him in the holding cells and denied him medical attention.
Craig “Krake” De Lilly, 36, made his first appearance at the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Thursday following the murder of 49-year-old officer Walton van Rooyen, who was found dead in his patrol car on Tuesday morning.
Taxi driver De Lilly along with his gaatjie and two other men were arrested shortly after the shooting in Acre Road and were kept in custody at Kensington Police Station.
SHOT: Cop Walton van Rooyen
At the time of the murder, which sparked anger among Capetonians, Police Spokesperson
Colonel Andrè Traut, said Van Rooyen was shot by the taxi driver he had arrested on the corner of 5th Avenue and Voortrekker Road while taking the suspect to Kensington SAPS.
De Lilly’s family and friends filled the public gallery on Thursday, waiting five hours for the case to be called.
Officials from the City’s Safety and Security Investigations Unit could also be seen in the gallery.
De Lilly’s lawyer told the court that his client was beaten up by police, who allegedly put a black bag over his head.
He stood in the dock wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a grey Guess T-shirt.
Bruising could be seen on the left side of his face and his lawyer told the court he also had bruising on his torso and neck.
HARD TIME: Craig ‘Krake’ De Lilly, 36, appeared at Cape Town Magistrates’ Court. Picture supplied
His lawyer also questioned why the other three suspects had been set free: “There are certain things I am following up on and we will proceed with a bail hearing but request that he gets medical attention.
“It must be noted that there were four suspects and up until lunchtime, there was still a second suspect.”
The magistrate ruled that the case be postponed to 30 March for a formal bail hearing, while De Lilly will be held at Cape Town Central Police Station and receive medical attention.
A reliable source this week revealed that De Lilly is an alleged member of the 26s gang.
He has a criminal record dating back to 1999 and had been convicted of robbery, kidnapping and rape.
Despite having “26” tattoos on his chest, his angry relatives claimed he was not a skollie and also expressed their anger when they heard he was allegedly moered by police.