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Chicken Licken in Potchefstroom has come under the spotlight after a video of a man locked up in a cage emerged. In the video, the man, who was badly beaten and bleeding, can be seen sitting alone in the cage behind the shop and holding his bloodied head.
The man was reportedly crying and begging for mercy and forgiveness, said Maesela Kekana, the man who took the video.
He further told Daily Sun that a young man who was there started shouting at the staff to release the man, who had been accused of stealing chicken. Some eyewitnesses reportedly told the tabloid that the caged man was aggressive and drunk.
He apparently went into the store and started banging the glass security bar that separates customers from cashiers, the Chicken Licken shop owner reportedly told the tabloid. The cashiers got worried that he would eventually break the glass, so they unlocked the door and a female cashier hit him to the point of bleeding.
The owner, however, said the man was not locked up in a cage but in a back room of the shop, though video footage shows otherwise.
He said he would investigate the incident, then dismiss and lay criminal charges against those responsible.
One of the eyewitnesses in the background can be heard shouting: “Chicken Licken, you will get into trouble for what you have done. This person has rights, he will sue you. You’re not the police. You hit him and then lock him in a cage?”
In the end, police and paramedics were called to the scene and treated the man.
Watch the video below, uploaded to YouTube courtesy of Daily Sun: