This came after the country’s 21-day lockdown kicked off on March 27 after government decreed non-essential businesses must close and all South Africans, except essential services workers, stay at home for 21 days in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
Members of the EMPD who were patrolling in Boksburg on March 28 spotted people standing in front of a gate of a tavern on Hospital Road at about 11pm. Upon further investigation, the officers found that the people were buying alcohol from the tavern through the closed gate. When the officers approached, the crowd ran away and the person who was selling the alcohol went inside the building. Officers entered the property and arrested the two people suspected of selling alcohol during lockdown.
In Parkdene, patrolling members of the EMPD arrested two men they found walking along Espri Avenue carrying bottles full of alcohol at about 1.30pm on March 28.
Along Van Wyk Louw Road, members of the EMPD pulled off a car and arrested the driver and his passenger at about 3.15pm on March 28. After pulling over, the police asked the driver as to where they were going, to which the driver responded they were going to a nearby ATM, but his passenger allegedly became agitated and started arguing with the officers, who then resorted to arresting the pair.
All arrested suspects were charged with contravening the regulations of the Disaster Management Act. They were all scheduled to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The rules say, except for essential services workers, people are only allowed to leave their homes to shop for basic necessities and an urgent trip to the pharmacy.
Thousands of police officers and members of the SANDF are deployed to work around the clock to ensure people are adhering to the regulations of the Covid-19 lockdown.
According to the Disaster Management Regulations, flouting the law can result in six months in jail, a fine or both.
Also Read: Community patrollers help keep coronavirus at bay
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