A man got more than he bargained for when he allegedly snatched a cellphone from a student.
|||A man got more than he bargained for when he allegedly snatched a cellphone from a student.
A group of 15 passers-by – including homeless people, residents of District Six and members of the army – gave chase. They eventually nabbed the man at a Cape Town taxi rank.
The victim, a 17-year-old first-year student, said she had been walking with a friend from a Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) residence to the CBD on Monday morning when they were approached by what they thought was a homeless, disabled man.
She described him as thin with red (dyed) hair, and he appeared to be disabled as he walked with a severe limp. The man was polite to her and her friend before snatching her BlackBerry.
“He was wearing a polo neck and a big jacket. He initially walked and chatted to us and told us not to be scared,” said the student.
“Not once did we think he was pretending. Then he grabbed my phone and ran away.”
District Six residents came to the rescue after hearing screams.
“We ran after him, screaming and shouting for help. Homeless people who were on the side of the street helped us chase him, and other people walking by chased him too.
“Even some members of the army were running after him. He had about 15 people chasing him.
“The man was caught at a taxi rank and was taken back to the District Six residence.
“Security guards called the police, and they arrested him.
“He tried to apologise, but would he have asked for forgiveness had he not been caught?” asked the student. - Cape Argus
sibongakonke.mama@inl.co.za