u Mhlanga hospital

Police exhibit bags have micro-perforations to allow breathing but this causes toxic fumes to come out and affect members, some of whom fell sick and required hospital treatment.

“The South African Police's exhibit bags are designed in such a way that they must not contain certain things, or they must be not tamper-proof. They actually have holes in them, but it is not something that the public must say, oh, you have got holes in them. It is micro-perforations so that the bag can breathe. But that means those fumes are coming off. ... Some members did book off sick. ... I had my partner rushed to hospital, to u Mhlanga hospital, and I had a member from customs collapse on the scene. All had to be treated by ambulance on scene at CHC. So the smell is what we are talking about here. So that is what makes you sick. It makes you nauseous. It can give you heart palpitations.”