A man yesterday claimed that he lied in a Police statement out of fear for his safety.

During the second day of a Police assault trial in Magistrates' Court, complainant Harvey Elswood Williams, Jr. testified that after an alleged beating by Police he concocted a story about selling drugs to avoid further attacks.

Williams has pressed charges against Det. Con. Terrance Gift and P.c. Shannon Wolffe for allegedly assaulting him after he was picked up on November 22, 1996 for trying to export $25,225 without permission.

The court earlier heard that Williams was kicked and punched several times in an interrogation room at the Narcotics Division in Prospect later that day.

Under cross-examination by lawyers Julian Hall and Richard Hector who represent Det. Con. Gift and P.c. Wolffe, respectively, Williams admitted that the day after the alleged beating he told two different Police officers that the money was drug-related.

Mr. Hall read from a statement taken by the officers that Williams had brought three pounds of marijuana from "some Mexicans in California'' and smuggled it into Bermuda.

He then sold the marijuana to a "Rastafarian he met at Swinging Doors'' and was planning to spend the money on his education and two young children, Williams said in the statement.

Mr. Hall suggested that the reason why Williams did not obtain permission to export the money was because he knew the Bermuda Monetary Authority would find out it was drug money.

Williams denied this and said: "I was just scared they would take it away from me. I worked hard for that money and I just wanted to get an education.'' Williams added that he believed the statement taken by the officers was not "accurate''.

"They have added things I didn't say and omitted things I did,'' Williams claimed. "It is not an accurate record.'' He recalled: "I told them about the beating and they told me they didn't want to hear any of that.

"Wolffe told me if I acted like anything was wrong they would take me back to Prospect and beat my black a.. again.'' "I lied to (Det. Cons.) Richardson and Burgess because I did not want to go back there,'' Williams stressed. "I would have done anything not to go back.

I felt they were threatening my life.'' Mr. Hall also claimed that Williams invented a "story of abuse'' to avoid being charged for drug offences.

"I put it to you that you concocted this story of abuse in hopes that you would lead these two Police officers (Det. Con. Gift and P.c. Wolffe) off the trail,'' he told Williams.

"You knew the story you made up about sending the money to your mother was a lie.

"You have besmirched the character and reputation of two serving officers.'' But Williams testified: "I lied to officers Richardson and Burgess because when Gift and Wolffe put hands on me and hurt me as bad as they did I was scared.

"I was scared of all officers at that point. I lied to Richardson and Burgess because I felt that if I did anything to upset them then they would deal with me the same way Gift and Wolffe did.

"When I told them of the beating they said, `We do not want to hear any of that.' I did not want to be beaten again by anybody.'' Williams told the court he had photographs of bruises on his body caused by the alleged beating, but did not know why they were not submitted as evidence during the trial.

"Three days after the beating I had a relative take pictures of my face, lower back and mid back,'' Williams said. "A week later I went to a chiropractor because I was still in pain.

"I couldn't urinate for two days after Gift kicked me in the stomach. I just lay in bed in pain.'' The trial will resume before Senior Magistrate Will Francis on January 29 with Det. Con. Gift and P.c. Wolffe still to take the witness stand.