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Mob beats up 'suspicious' man
14/04/2008 16:54 - (SA)
Thabisile Khoza
Vosman - Angry villagers assaulted a man when he couldn't explain why he was walking in the street with a six-year-old girl on Sunday morning.
Suspicious residents of Vosman Extension 12 outside Emalahleni asked him how he was related to the child.
"They found he was not related to her and didn't even know her or her family," said Vosman police spokesperson Superintendent Izak van Zyl on Monday.
Believing he may be a man wanted in connection with the rape and murder of five-year-old Thago Maloma who was found dead in the area on March 30, they beat him up.
He was injured so badly he had to be admitted to hospital, where he is under police guard.
"It was very difficult for us to rescue him from the community. They were so aggressive and threw stones at us. We were forced to fire warning shots to disperse the crowd," said Van Zyl.
He said the suspect was taken to the police station and charged with abduction, while the child was returned to her family.
The injured man is expected to appear in the Witbank Magistrate's Court when he is discharged from hospital.
Van Zyl assured the community that police would determine as soon as possible if the man is the same person wanted in connection with Maloma's death.
- African Eye
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