A DOCKET of public violence has been opened with Booysens SAPS after a house in Forest Street in Forest Hill was burnt down by disgruntled people on April 7.
According to Booysens SAPS communications officer Capt Lorraine van Emmerik, members from Booysens Police Station were in the Forest Hill area when they noticed a house burning in Forest Street.
“WO Emile Grobler and traffic warden Jordan Smith went to the Turffontein Fire Station to obtain their assistance, while WO Kobus Strydom and Const Michael Cronje entered the premises and warned the occupants of the dangers of the fire and assisted them off the premises.
“The management of Booysens would like to thank the members for their bravery in saving the occupants of the house and making sure that no lives were lost,” she said.
One of the occupants, Tebogo Khanyi, said the fire was started by people who were angry because one of them was stabbed earlier that day.
“We heard that someone up the road was stabbed and those people suspected one of us. We don’t know who stabbed that person. I know lots of people, some with children live here, but we had nothing to do with the stabbing.
“Most of us are recyclers and we try to make ends meet all the time. So we have become the scapegoat for this crime. All of us are now destitute, the house burnt to the ground. We appeal to the community to help us in whatever way they can,” pleaded Tebogo.
A docket of public violence has been opened and the circumstance of how the fire started is being investigated.
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