A youth was denied bail pending a further hearing by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court for the armed robbery of a woman in Marlboro on 11 June.
The 19-year-old accused will reappear in court on 21 July.
It is alleged that the accused pounced on the victim at midday while she was walking alone on Zenia Road in Alexandra. Two witnesses, who were walking in front of the victim, testified that they heard her scream and looked back and saw the accused throttling her from behind while holding a knife to her throat.
The witnesses allege that they heard the accused demanding that the victim hand over her cellphone. They said after a struggle, the victim managed to free herself and shouted for help while the accused ran away.
A group of men then apprehended and beat up the accused before the police, who were patrolling nearby, were alerted to the incident. The police officers stopped the beating and arrested the accused.
The victim went to Alex clinic where she was treated for her minor injuries.
In mitigation, the accused said he committed the robbery out of necessity as he wanted to sell the cellphone to raise money for a debt he owed to someone else who threatened to beat him up if he failed to pay back the money.
