Three tsotsis beaten by shoppers
Three tsotsis accused of stealing from a woman were beaten by angry shoppers.
Three tsotsis were beaten to a pulp and paraded by shoppers at the Soshanguve Crossing Shopping Centre in Extension 1 in Block M recently.
They had been caught as they tried to get away with a shopper’s bank cards and money.
“We chased after them when we heard a woman screaming out for help,” said a security officer at the mall who did not want to be named.
“We then beaten and dragged them inside in the mall’s vicinity by car guards, security officers and taxi drivers who were all wanted to teach the criminals a lesson.
“Today we made sure that they would know that stealing from a poor person was wrong and would not be condoned here in Soshanguve.”
The thieves were believed to have been running a scam in which they took money from shoppers after promising to do their shopping for them. They would claim shops gave them discounts.
They were showed no mercy by the shoppers who kicked and punched the trio.
Nomsa Ndlovu, a shopper, said she did not think agreeing to “buy” from the thieves would bring her such pain.
“I trusted those guys with my money but the minute I saw that they did not want to produce the goods, I felt that something was wrong,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu said she did not suspect that they were criminals because one of them wore a uniform.
“He was wearing an SANDF uniform,” added Ndlovu.
“They asked me to give them money in exchange for [shopping] vouchers to use to pay for my groceries and disposal nappies.”
An eyewitness, Clement Zulu (19) said he identified a man who had robbed him among the trio.
“He took my phone and wallet at gunpoint after asking me to come with him to a car at the same shopping centre a few months back,” said Clement Zulu.
The grade 12 pupil said he did not press any charges.
Ndlovu warned shoppers to be vigilant when shopping.
“Don’t become like me and go about trusting every person, especially with money.”
The mall’s security personnel refused to comment on the matter and referred Rekord to management.
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