If you see this badge, know these metro cops have special combat skills

A group of Johannesburg metro police department officers underwent an intensive training programme hosted by members of the Fujian Police College from China.

Metro police spokesperson chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the training camp, which was held in Johannesburg, focused on teaching officers "techniques in hand-to-hand combat".

Minnaar said the officers could use the training for unarmed and defence measures when arresting suspects, "as well as tactical principles on how to execute surprise moves on suspects when entering a house or a building to face armed suspects".

"They were also taught how to restrain  aggressive armed suspects when approaching a stolen or hijacked vehicle," Minnaar said.

The Fujian college states it has more than 5,000 undergraduate students, and more than 7,000 in-service police officers are trained every year.

The training was facilitated by the Chinese embassy  at no cost to Johannesburg, said the city's public safety department.

The 30 trainees who completed the two-week course were awarded a certificate in "Police Use of Force" awarded by the China ministry of public security, it said.