Police officers allegedly stole beer at an illegal tavern, chased its owner into a river and left him there to drown.

This happened after a group of officers, who were raiding illegal shebeens, pounced on Thuthuka Shabalala's home in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday.

Shabalala's family members said the policemen shouted at him for selling liquor without a licence.

"When they searched the house further they found small packets of dagga and that is when they tried to arrest him," Shabalala's uncle Sthembiso Sokhela said.

"But he slipped and ran towards the bush area near Tugela River. One police van chased after him while other officers stayed behind."

Sokhela said when the officers reached the river they fired shots in the direction of his nephew who was already in the water.

"We are told that the police stood there and watched him drown and then left the scene. They never reported this to their bosses or even registered the incident. They kept quiet until we found his body. It is sickening."

Shabalala's family viewed his corpse at a local state mortuary yesterday and said they could not find any bullet wounds on it.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesman Robbie Raburabu confirmed they were investigating the matter.

When residents arrived at the river, one police officer told them that Shabalala had hidden on the river banks but another claimed that he had managed to swim across the river. Police left the scene a few minutes after.

Community members searched for Shabalala from around 11pm but they did not find him.

A missing person's case was opened at Tugela Ferry police station on Sunday.

"We also discovered that a case of beer had been stolen but police told us that it had not been registered with them. We are shocked that police can do this to us. Thuthuka was just trying to make a living without causing harm to anybody," said his relative, Kwanele Sokhela.

sifilel@sowetan.co.za