A man accused of robbing a female passenger on the Northern Line train got the skrik of his life when gatvol commuters turned on him and gave him a lekker pak slae on Wednesday evening.
A witness on the scene, who asked to remain anonymous, says the man robbed a passenger on the train, which was on its way from Cape Town to Wellington at 7.45 pm.
“Commuters in third class beat him up badly after he robbed someone on the train headed to Wellington. They then dragged him off the train at Brackenfell station,” says the man.
“He was thrown to the ground with his head hitting the station platform hard, then like a ragdoll he was dragged around the corner of the stairs on Brackenfell station where lowlife skollies attacked him with weapons, noticeable was a screwdriver.”
The commuter says he decided to contact the police as the robber was beaten to a pulp and bleeding badly.
“The police came and he was stumbling down Old Paarl Road. They picked him up and took him to hospital,” he adds.
LIGHTS OUT: Beaten to pulp
“What is alarming is that there were no Prasa protection services anywhere in sight.”
Brackenfell SAPS spokesman, Captain Hein Hendricks, confirmed an injured man was picked up by officers but says no case was registered.
“SAPS members attended an incident at 7.50 [Wednesday] evening at Brackenfell Railway Station. They could not find any complainants or any witnesses at the station to a robbery or assault,” he says.
“They were informed of a seemingly injured person walking towards Old Paarl Road in Jeanette Street, Brackenfell.
“They found a 35-year-old male, resident of Paarl, with an open wound.
“He alleged that he was assaulted by commuters on the train. He claimed that he is not able to identify them and did not want to open a case. Members assisted him to the hospital.”
However, Metrorail’s Riana Scott says they are not aware of the incident: We have no record of such an incident and would appreciate any information to be able to fully investigate.”