Four men were severely assaulted last Wednesday by residents of the Mgongo informal settlement along Location Road.
Local police were notified of the mob justice attack in the afternoon and upon arriving at the settlement, officers were met by a considerable number of community members.
“They were assembled in front of a yard. Inside the yard were two shacks, one of which was destroyed,” said Brakpan SAPS communications officer Constable Audrey Buthelezi.
“At the front of the shack not destroyed were four males. Two were lying on their backs and the other two were sitting. They were all bleeding and moaning in pain.”
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Law enforcers moved the community away from the injured men and advised them to let the police handle the situation.
“Utterances such as ‘they are thieves, they must go’ were made by the crowd and when the police asked what precisely transpired, no one could answer,” said Buthelezi.
“The visibly injured men said they were beaten up for stealing but when asked by whom, none of them pointed out the culprits.”
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An ambulance was called and the four were transported to the nearest hospital.
“Community members told police that the men are a nuisance to society and have been perpetrating various crimes,” said Buthelezi.
“SAPS reminded them that they can not solve crime with crime and that they should alert the police of criminal activities and not take the law into their own hands.”
Police expressed gratitude to the CPF for their prompt response in sending medical care while awaiting the arrival of the ambulance.
