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SA Police Commissioner
rejects corruption claims
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PM - Friday, 1 December , 2006 17:45:00
Reporter: Nance Haxton
MARK BANNERMAN: This afternoon South Australia's Police Commissioner Mal Hyde
angrily rejected claims of police corruption presented by Charles White at the
Dianne Brimble coronial inquest.
Mr Hyde says police officers cannot take part in other business dealings without
permission, and he says no evidence was presented to support Charles White's
claims that five South Australian policemen part-owned a nightclub or protected
drug deals, as Nance Haxton reports from Adelaide.
NANCE HAXTON: The protected witness known only as Charles White has made
alarming allegations at the Dianne Brimble inquest, that five South Australian
police owned a nightclub in Adelaide, and protected drug deals in cooperation
with motorcycle gangs.
Today Commissioner Mal Hyde revealed that preliminary investigations show no
evidence to back-up Mr White's claims.
MAL HYDE: We have no evidence to suggest that police officers are involved in
running this club that has any substance.
Now, we will continue to have an open mind about that, but the point I'm making
to you today that the claims that were made by witness White aren't borne out by
the records relating to who the licensees are, and they were not supported in
any way by the witness today.
NANCE HAXTON: He says South Australian police are pressing for Mr White's return
to South Australia for further questioning.
MAL HYDE: I have asked the counsel assisting and asked in the inquest to request
that the witness White not be released, but be required to come back to give
further evidence.
NANCE HAXTON: What sort of charges could be laid against Mr White in order for
him to be questioned in Adelaide?
MAL HYDE: I think we're a long way away from really going down that track, and I
don't think I'll answer that one.
NANCE HAXTON: Do you have any concerns about the court process that's allowing
witnesses to make these claims?
MAL HYDE: I am disappointed in the way some things have been raised in the
inquest, and I'm disappointed in the spin that's been put on those claims by
some sections of the media.
NANCE HAXTON: Commissioner Hyde says police are not permitted to engage in other
business without approval, and they would never be given permission to take part
in such an establishment as a nightclub.
However, Mr Hyde admitted he could not rule out the possibility that police
could be financially involved in such a business, without the force's knowledge.
MAL HYDE: Well, Adelaide's a small place. People are friends and relatives and
next-door neighbours of many people.
You can speculate as much as you like about what sort of connections there might
be between people here in Adelaide, and I don't think really you can take it any
further than that.
We will continue to make enquiries, and if we are able to find anything of
substance, we will pursue that as well. But at this stage, the point I'm making
to you is that the witness had the opportunity today to support his claims with
reliable material, and he was not able to do so.
MARK BANNERMAN: South Australian Police Commissioner Mal Hyde.
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FIVE police officers owned an Adelaide nightclub where some of the men of
interest in the death of Brisbane woman Dianne Brimble dealt drugs, a witness
has told an inquest.
The witness, codenamed Mr White, told the Sydney inquest into Mrs Brimble's
death that he saw Matthew Slade and Dragan Losic sell or hand out drugs at
several nightclubs in Adelaide, including the Soda Room.
Mr White said he was told by the manager of the Soda Room that the club was
owned by police officers.
Mr White told Glebe Coroner's Court that Mr Slade had told him he had the police
"in his hands" and also had the protection of the Gypsy Jokers motorcycle gang.
Mr White, whose real identity has been suppressed, said Mr Slade, Mr Losic and
other men of interest Mark Wilhelm and Petar Pantic regularly dealt in drugs in
Adelaide.
Mrs Brimble died in 2002 on board the P&O's Pacific Sky cruise ship from a toxic
combination of alcohol and the date rape drug fantasy.
Earlier, an expert witness told the inquest that Mrs Brimble was known to be
strongly opposed to drugs and was unlikely to have willingly taken a date rape
drug.
Dr Jean Edwards, a sexual assault expert, also said it would have been totally
out of character for Mrs Brimble to have agreed to have sex with a man she had
just met, have group sex or allow photographs to be taken of her having sex.
Dr Edwards said fantasy did not turn people into "sex machines" but simply made
them more enthusiastic about activities they enjoyed.
The doctor said Mrs Brimble's family and friends had said she did not like sex.
Dr Edwards said Mrs Brimble appeared to be asleep in most of the explicit
photographs of her having sex with Mr Wilhelm.
The inquest continues.