Joyriders shoot off handcuffs

2008-02-12 22:43

Johannesburg - Two men arrested for travelling on an East Rand train without tickets overpowered a security guard, stole his firearm and shot their way out of handcuffs on Tuesday morning.

But, says police spokesperson Lesibane Molokomme, they were caught for a second time and are now behind bars awaiting trial.

He said the two had been handcuffed to each other by a security guard who had caught them without tickets on a train at the Birchleigh Railway Station, in Norkem Park at 06:50.

They had tried to flee, but the guard had followed and caught them only to be overpowered and disarmed, said Molokomme.

When he told the men he did not have the keys to the handcuffs, they blasted the cuffs open using his service pistol before fleeing.

Molokomme said two off-duty Ivory Park policemen had arrived at the scene on their way to work and arrested both men.

They would be charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and common robbery, he said.

- SAPA