Robber wielding AK-47 with no bullets beaten up.

A robbery suspect armed with an empty AK-47 automatic assault rifle was given a serious beating by residents of Kamaqhekeza near Tonga, in Mpumalanga, on Thursday.

According to provincial SA Police Service (Saps) in the province, the man was attacked around 21h45 after he tried to rob a pub and grill outlet with the rifle but was nabbed and severely assaulted by patrons.

“People who were inside are said to have cornered him and apprehended him after severely assaulting him. It later transpired that the firearm he was holding had no ammunition,” police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said.

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Rifle taken for ballistic testing

He said police and emergency medical personnel were called to the scene.

Mohlala said the man was arrested and charged with attempted business robbery.

His AK-47 rifle was also confiscated for further investigation meanwhile the suspect was taken to hospital for medical treatment and is currently under police guard.

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Police said the rifle will be taken for ballistic testing to determine if it has been used in the commission of crime elsewhere.

Mohlala said they could not rule out the possibility of adding more charges against the suspect as the investigation continues.

No way out

The Provincial Commissioner of the Saps in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, welcomed the arrest and urged the community not to take the law into their own hands.

However, she appreciated the man’s arrest and confiscating of the illegal weapon. The suspect will appear in the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court soon.

In July last year, an alleged business robber shot himself in Madonsi Xikhulu Village in Limpopo village when he realised he had been cornered by community members baying for his blood.

The suspect, armed with a pistol, had allegedly entered a local spaza shop and demanded cash from the owner.

A customer alerted police and community members, who chased the suspect as he kept shooting at them, so he shot and wounded himself as the residents closed in.

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