A man died after he tried to rob a woman armed with a knobkierrie and a mob attacked him, and assaulted him.
A 25-year-old woman was on her way to the bus stop on Monday in Othello Road, Welkom, when she was approached by an unknown man holding a knobkierrie.
“He allegedly attacked the woman and tried to rob her of her cellphone. She screamed for help and the community chased him and assaulted him,” says Capt. Stephen Thakeng, media liaison officer for the Lejweleputswa SAPS.
Thakeng says she then apparently walked back home, and when she returned to the scene there were a lot of people and the suspect was lying on the ground. He had been beaten badly. While he was lying there he said his name was Pule Mthimkhulu, says Thakeng.
Welkom Police members and the ambulance were called and he was taken to the hospital. He was unconscious and never regained consciousness. He died as a result of his injuries.
“A case of murder has been registered for further investigation. The body is currently at the Welkom forensic pathology services and nobody has come forward to claim the deceased body,” says Thakeng.
The District Commissioner of Lejweleputswa, Maj. Gen. Lerato Molale says residents must not take the law into their own hands. “They must hand over the suspects who believed committing a crime to the police, so that a thorough investigation can be conducted,” he says.
Anyone with information that will help the authorities trace the relatives of the deceased must contact Det. WO Riaan De Lange of Welkom serious and violent crimes unit on 082-821-9227 or Crime Stop number 08600 10111.
