Two men from Ivory Park, accused of committing a house robbery, are lucky to be alive after they were rescued from a mob at Themba Khoza informal settlement, on Wednesday last week.
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Ivory Park SAPS communication officer, Captain Bernard Matimulane, said the two suspects, aged 25 and 27, were apparently pointed out by a child of the house robbery victim. The child identified them as the ones responsible for a robbery in which three cellphones were stolen from one of the shacks and the victim was hit on the forehead and later transported to Tembisa Hospital.
The robbery took place last Sunday at about 1am.
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“Ivory Park SAPS, upon being alerted of a mob justice incident that was taking place at that informal settlement, rushed to the scene where they rescued the two badly beaten men, who were then rushed to hospital.
“The two suspects are now in hospital under police guard in connection with the house robbery,” said Capt. Matimulane.
Despite the fact that the two have been arrested in connection with a serious crime, the acting station commander of the Ivory Park SAPS, Colonel Baba Mpotoane, expressed concern that instead of reporting the two men to the police and allowing the law to take its course, some community members opted to take the law into their own hands.
“The police will not, under any circumstance, allow anyone to take the law into their own hands as this will breed anarchy,” said Colonel Mpotoane.
He called upon the community to join the local policing structures to fully understand lawful ways they can assist in crime-fighting initiatives.
