When the Herald arrived just minutes after the beating, the policeman was inside the guardhouse and the taxi driver was sitting injured on the footpath.
Rebels warned a Herald photographer not to take pictures as the driver was bundled into his taxi and driven off. A television crew also on the scene had a firearm pointed at them and told not to film either. The policeman was marched inside the complex by two gunmen and detained for about an hour.
Eventually, two Army officers drove up to the gate and asked for the return of the policeman. Soldiers in a patrol vehicle sat down the road from the complex with a rifle trained on the gates.
An Army spokesman, Captain Howard Politini, said the beaten officer's head injuries were not serious.
"He had gone there with a partner to retrieve one of the stolen taxis after the people inside had said they could do so," said Captain Politini. "When the two policemen arrived they were set upon. One of the policemen managed to get into the vehicle and escape."
Speight's initial reaction to the attack was: "Oh, well, all part and parcel ... We're in a coup situation, don't forget ... We are in a situation of stress."
George Speight talks to IRN's Barry Soper
(10 min).
