Prison hostage drama: Media blackout
2012-11-19 22:47
Cape Town - A media blackout is in force at the Mangaung Correctional Centre where inmates took a doctor hostage on Monday, reports said.
During a ward round at the facility's hospital, a male doctor and a nurse were taken hostage, reportedly by two inmates armed with knives, but the nurse was later released unharmed.
An OFM reporter at the prison said that taking photographs or video footage had been strictly forbidden.
Grace Molatedi, the regional deputy commissioner for prisons, had earlier confirmed that "there has been a hostage drama at Mangaung Correctional Centre", but had not divulged any details, saying the matter was "sensitive".
By late evening, police negotiators were on scene trying to convince the hostage takers to free the doctor.
The doctor's family have been notified but police are withholding his identity from the media and general public, OFM News reported.
Police spokesperson Thabo Litabe told OFM one inmate is doing time for rape, and the other for robbery, theft and unlawful possession of fire arms.
The prisoners are demanding to be transferred to a prison in Gauteng.
The Mangaung facility is privately operated by G4S, a British multinational security services company, in partnership with the government.
The maximum security prison comprises six wings, with a hospital in the middle - where events unfolded before 11:00.
