JOHANNESBURG: The case against eight South African policemen accused of murder after shackling a man to the back of a police vehicle and dragging him to a nearby station was postponed on Monday pending a formal identification parade.

The policemen were not present in the packed Benoni courtroom in east Johannesburg. The case, which has made international headlines, will resume on Friday, the magistrate ordered. The men will be held in custody in the interim.

Video footage captured by an onlooker last week of policemen tying Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia, 27, to the back of a police vehicle and driving off through the busy streets shocked South Africans.

It also reinforced the police's reputation for brutality, corruption and incompetence in a country where more than three people die in police custody every day.

About 100 protesters gathered outside the court, some carrying posters saying "No bail for police killers".

"In South Africa we are having a big problem with the police. You see them and you run away because you cannot trust them," said Sifiso Mlotshwa, one of scores of demonstrating taxi drivers.

The incident came a week after the main detective in the murder case against Olympic star Oscar Pistorius was removed from the investigation when it emerged he was facing attempted murder charges for allegedly opening fire on a minibus full of passengers..