MOB BEATS MAN TO DEATH INSIDE AMBULANCE

By Karabo Rammutla

Residents of the Mshongoville squatter camp in Pretoria thought the man they accused of stealing from them had died after they caught and badly beat him on Monday.

But when an ambulance arrived on the scene, the man was not declared dead and paramedics stabilised him before loading him into their van.

When the mob realised that the man was still alive, they blocked the ambulance from leaving, broke into the vehicle and stoned him to death.

Paramedics were forced to abandon the ambulance as they ran for their lives.

After the victim was killed, the ambulance was stripped of its medical equipment.

A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, says the community had complained for too long about break-ins in the area.

“There’s a lot of crime and I doubt that the dead man is the only one responsible for stealing here. There are so many criminals here,” he said.

The resident condemned those who attacked the man inside an ambulance, saying this will prevent paramedics from coming to the area in the future.

“No paramedic will ever agree to come to Mshongoville. They had beaten the man to a pulp already, even if he lived he was going to be a cripple.

“Why then continue to terrorize paramedics by stoning an ambulance and removing them by force from the ambulance?” he asked.

He said attacking the man in the ambulance “was a foolish move from the community”.

Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has pleaded with residents to stop taking the law into their own hands.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said residents should not hinder the operations by the emergency medical personnel whose job is to indiscriminately provide emergency medical care to all who need it.

The MEC said the incident left EMS personnel traumatised.

“This is totally unacceptable. We cannot allow society to degenerate like this. Mob justice or taking the law into our own hands cannot be the answer to addressing some of the socio-economic issues affecting communities. There has to be a better way,” she said.

Pictured above: A man was stoned to death inside an ambulance in Mshongoville in

Atteridgeville on Monday

Image source: Gauteng Department of Health

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