Rustenburg - North West police on Monday appealed to community members to refrain from taking the law into their own hands following an attempted lynching in Boitekong, outside Rustenburg, over the weekend.
Police officers had to rescue five suspected murderers, three of them minors, on Saturday after angry community members caught them and set them alight.
Police suspect the minors, aged 15 to 17, a 22-year old man, and a 19-year old man were behind the murder of a 30-year old man in the area in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“It is alleged that members of the community caught the suspects and took the law into their own hands by assaulting and setting them alight. The police managed to rescue the suspects who were taken to Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital for medical treatment of severe burn wounds,” said police spokesman, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone.
Police have only charged the 19-year old man thus far. He will appear in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Officers released the minors into the custody of their parents so social workers could do an assessment in terms of the Child Justice Act.
The 22-year old man was also released from custody pending the outcome of further police investigations.
ANA