Nongqai Vol 17 No 8 – Sunnyside CID (2)

ABSTRACT

This article recounts two striking incidents from a detective’s early career at Sunnyside CID, illustrating how unexpected situations shaped his professional development. The first episode involves a confrontation with a university lecturer whose misconduct escalated into a later criminal case. The second describes the arrest of a man exposing himself near a local café. Together, these events highlight the unpredictable nature of policing and the personal resolve required to uphold discipline and justice. “Incidents from a detective’s early career — from a university confrontation to late‑night arrest in Pretoria.”

SOE – SHORT EXTRACT 

A young detective confronts a lecturer who later becomes a crimen injuria suspect, and arrests another offender near a Greek café — two cases that reveal the unexpected challenges of Sunnyside CID. “It was pure coincidence that I received the case, although crimen injuria investigations were part of my duties.”

KEYWORDS

Sunnyside CID, detective career, crimen injuria, university incident, misconduct, Pretoria policing, Greek café, exposure case, 1960’s police work, Barry Taylor, Nongqai

SUNNYSIDE CID (PART 2)

When Discipline Meets the Unexpected: Two Defining Cases from Sunnyside CID

Incidents from a detective’s early career — from a university confrontation to late‑night arrest in Pretoria.

Barry Taylor

Sunnyside CID – Part 2 

In 1968 I was studying “English 1” at the University of Pretoria. My classes were extramural and held early in the evenings. The lecturer was Mr (name withheld), and our group consisted of about fifteen students. One of our prescribed books was Gulliver’s Travels, which I had read many years before.

Each week Mr (name withheld) assigned a portion of the book for us to read, and he would discuss it with us in the next class. One evening, still early in the first semester, he focused on the section where Gulliver encounters the little people. A blonde lady sat in front of me. Kelly asked her to explain the passage. She could not, and to my shock he insulted her by calling her “human excrement.”

The class fell completely silent. I stood up and told him that he owed the lady an apology, as his remark was entirely uncalled for. He demanded to know who I was; I gave him my name. He ordered me to leave the class. I refused. The lady turned around and told me it did not matter, but I remained standing.

Mr (name withheld) walked back to his desk, packed his books, and left the classroom. As he walked out, I warned him that I was paying for these classes, just like the other students, and that I would report him to the Rector.

The next morning at 09:00 I went to see the Rector, Professor Rautenbach. His secretary knew me and allowed me in. I explained the entire incident. He told me to go speak to Mr (name withheld) in his office so that we could resolve the matter.

Later that day I went to Mr (name withheld) office. He looked up and asked what I wanted. I told him I had spoken to the Rector and that we needed to settle the issue. He refused to invite me in and said he would not apologise. I walked in anyway, sat down on a leather chair near his desk, put my feet up on his desk, and told him I would sit there until he apologised. He ignored me. After about ten minutes I realised I was wasting my time. I left and told him clearly that I would attend his next class.

At the next class I sat in my usual seat. He continued with the lecture, and so it went on in the following weeks.

One day he announced that we were going to write a test. He handed out answer sheets but did not give me one. I stood up, took one from his desk, and completed the test. The next week he returned the papers. I had received 0%. I took the paper to the Dean of the English Department; he marked it, and I passed. I realised then that I would get nowhere with Mr (name withheld).

The Crimen Injuria Case – One Year Later

About a year later I received a Crimen Injuria case from Major Basson. The complainants were two part‑time students living in Zethushof, a large apartment complex in Park Street. They complained that the man living above them constantly hammered on his floor, which was their ceiling, and that they had found a condom stuck to their door that morning. They suspected the man upstairs.

When I checked who lived there, it was none other than the same Mr (name withheld).

I left him a note and phoned his office — no response. I left another note — still nothing. Two days later, at three o’clock in the morning, I went to his flat with Constable Paul Loock. Loock knocked; Mr (name withheld) answered in his pyjamas. I arrested him for crimen injuria. He did not recognise me.

At Sunnyside CID I read him his rights, had him sign the form, and began questioning him — for about three hours. I bluffed him and told him that his fingerprints were on the thumbnail used to attach the condom. He asked what sentence he might receive. I told him it depended on the magistrate. He then said he wanted to make a confession, which was taken down by Lieutenant Valie de Klerk (later Brigadier).

Only then did I tell him who I was. He said nothing.

He was detained at Pretoria Central. The case was postponed. When it finally went to court, Magistrate Krugel presided, and Mr (name withheld) was defended by Ike Swartzberg. He was convicted and received a fine and a suspended sentence.

I informed the university in writing — he was dismissed immediately. He later went to work for the SABC, and since it was a government department, I informed them as well. He was dismissed again. I never heard what became of him after that.

It was pure coincidence that I received the case, although crimen injuria investigations were part of my duties.

The VW Incident – Another Case Near Our Office

On the corner near our office was a Greek café. One day Detective Struwig called me: a man was exposing himself to women from inside a Volkswagen parked just around the corner.

We stood inside the café. The cafe’s windows were painted white, but the scratches made it possible to see through. The man could not see us.

A woman pushing a baby in a pram walked past. As she passed, the man exposed himself and began a sex act. Struwig and I ran out. I opened the VW’s door and grabbed him; Struwig stopped the woman. We took her to the office, and she agreed to testify.

The man was an air‑conditioner salesman from a firm in Bloed Street. In his briefcase were two cigarette packets — one sealed, one open. The open one contained forty pornographic postcard‑sized pictures. I confiscated them as evidence for an additional charge.

His wife was called to fetch the VW. She arrived — well‑dressed, a schoolteacher. She opened the packet of pornographic pictures, saw what was inside, and without a word gave him a hard slap that knocked him off the chair. She walked out and said over her shoulder: “I am divorcing you.”

He received a large fine and a suspended sentence. I never heard from him again.