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Two Mokopane men die after ingesting foreign substance

The survivor, a job seeker on Rabe Street, was given bread and a 2l bottle half-filled with a red substance assumed to be a soft-drink by an unknown man in a white vehicle.

MOKOPANE – The Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has ordered a full investigation into the death of two men who died on Saturday morning (August 13) and a third admitted to hospital.

The men consumed a foreign substance offered to the surviving victim by an unknown motorist on Thursday (August 11).

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Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the survivor (55) was among job seekers in Rabe Street, Mokopane, when an unknown man driving a white motor vehicle stopped next to them and asked if he was looking for a job.

“The man allegedly gave him bread and a 2L bottle half-filled with a red substance assumed to be a soft drink and drove off,” he said.

On arrival in Extension 14, the man’s younger brother, Klaas Muvhalo (50) and the other man identified as Thabo Thlako (36), drank the substance but he only consumed a bit of it. The two became highly intoxicated.

“Klaas’s condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital where he died in the early hours of Saturday morning. Thabo was later found dead in a house. The survivor also complained of stomach ache and was taken to hospital where he was admitted,” Mojapelo said.

He added that the registration number and type of vehicle the man was driving is still unknown at this stage.

“The police handling this case must fully probe the circumstances that led to the deaths of the two men without making any presumptions on the cause of death,” Hadebe concluded.

Mojapelo said two inquest dockets were opened and post mortem’s will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

“Anyone with information may contact Sergeant Johannes Makgamatha 060 8877 185 or crime stop number 08600 10111.”

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Raeesa Sempe

Raeesa Sempe is a Caxton Award-winning Digital Editor with nine years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and started her journey as a community journalist for the Polokwane Review in 2015. She then became the online journalist for the Review in 2016 where she excelled in solidifying the Review’s digital footprint through Facebook lives, content creation and marketing campaigns. Raeesa then moved on to become the News Editor of the Bonus Review in 2019 and scooped up the Editorial Employee of the Year award in the same year. She is the current Digital Editor of the Polokwane Review-Observer, a position she takes pride in. Raeesa is married with one child and enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music and baking – when she has the time. “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon. – Tom Stoppard

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