Durban - A Dannhauser man who suffered excruciating pain and injury to his scrotum and testicles after an assault by police, has been awarded R325 000 by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
In terms of an order granted by Judge Achmat Jappie on Monday, the man (who cannot be named due to the sensitive nature of his injuries), must be paid by the Minister of Police arising from an assault on August 26, 2010.
According to court papers, the 40-year-old, unemployed man was visiting an establishment known as Zondo Homestead in Dannhauser on the day of the assault.
At that time, several plainclothes policemen stationed at Nondweni police station were conducting crime prevention operations in the vicinity of Zondo Homestead.
A verbal altercation between the man and a detective, Thokozani Dlamini, began over the music being played.
The man claimed that he then left, but the policemen followed him outside and assaulted him. He was struck in the face with an open hand, and a policeman grabbed and twisted his scrotum, and then lifted him up by his scrotum, before tossing him across the road.
As a result of the assault, the man suffered a seven-centimetre laceration to his scrotum, and a testicle was ruptured.
The man was treated at the Nondweni Clinic, where he received six stitches to his scrotum.
He claims he continues to suffer extreme pain and sexual difficulties, including erectile dysfunction, loss of libido and humiliation as a result of his injuries.
The man, who initially sued for R510 000, said he would also incur future medical costs for reconstructive and urological surgery to his scrotum and medication for erectile dysfunction and pain.
Daily News