Party night ends in death
Stabbed man runs to petrol station for help, dies in parking lot
EARLY birds at a Richards Bay service station on Sunday morning got the shock of their lives when a bleeding man staggered towards the parking area seeking help.
The 25-year-old victim from eNseleni collapsed next to a car parked at the garage on Bullion Boulevard and although customers ran to help him, he succumbed to the fatal stab wound in his back at around 5am.
It is unclear exactly where he was attacked.
Four suspects were arrested the same morning by Richards Bay police and one of them was charged with murder.
He appeared in the Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and will again appear in court next week for a formal bail application.
According to Richards Bay SAPS, the deceased was earlier seen arguing with a group of men in the parking lot outside the nightclub Lion’s Den, but ran away when the quarrel escalated.
Parking lot brawls
This is not the first Alton parking lot dispute linked to a serious attack in the early hours of the morning.
On 7 June, 33-year-old Thabo Mhlongo was knifed and clubbed to death in the parking lot in front of Lion’s Den and in May alone, four people were stabbed in the parking lot outside the Keg & Piper.
Four cases of assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH) were opened.
The six men accused of murdering Mhlongo appeared in the Richards Bay District Court last week and were all refused bail.
The matter has been remanded to 4 September.
‘We urge club goers to take caution and adhere to the stipulated closing times of bars and clubs according to the license stipulations of the liquor board – 4am for the Lion’s Den and 2am for the Piper Bar,’ said Richards Bay SAPS spokesperson Debbie Ferreira.
