News / National
Zim 'conman' beaten in South Africa
19 Jun 2012 at 10:04hrs | Views
A ZIMBABWEAN man accused of conning a woman of R500 is lucky to be alive after he was rescued by South African police while being assaulted by an angry mob in Musina in the neighbouring country.
The incident occurred on Saturday at about 10am at the Musina Central Business District.
According to witnesses, the man is suspected to have recently conned a Zimbabwean woman of R500 before he disappeared into the busy streets of the border town.
On the fateful day, the woman who was allegedly conned spotted the man and managed to recognise him.
"She then alerted community members and they descended on the man and started assaulting him using fists and sticks while the woman who claimed to have been duped screamed and shouted demanding her money back. The man sustained injuries all over the body and he was rescued by police officers who were on patrol," said a witness.
Scores of curious shoppers reportedly cheered as the "conman" was being beaten up.
Chronicle yesterday caught up with the woman who claimed to have been conned by the man.
"I was doing window shopping when this man approached me. He appeared so innocent and asked me if I could assist him in changing his United States dollars into rand, saying he wasn't familiar with the town. He then asked me to accompany him to a place where he could do the currency exchange and out of sheer pity I decided to help and that was the worst mistake I made!" said the woman who declined to be named.
Without asking his name, the woman walked with the man for about 100 metres during which he asked her if she had the South African currency.
"He said he wanted to see a sample of the South African money as he was afraid that he might be conned when we did the exchange. I told him that I had R500 in cash and he asked me to give it to him and I gave him the money because he was so kind and I did not suspect anything," said the woman.
The man then reportedly opened his bag and took out some newspapers, which he used to wrap the woman's money.
"He put the money in his bag and then took it out again before he returned it to me before immediately vanishing into the busy shopping centre," said the woman.
On unwrapping the newspapers, the woman discovered that all her money had disappeared. She met the man a few days later and managed to recognise him.
"I immediately recognised the man crossing the busy street. I then shouted for help and the members of the public ran after him until they caught him," she said.
After a thorough beating, the man was found with R250 in his pocket. He was, however, rescued by police from the angry mob.
The South African police spokesperson for Musina, Lieutenant Peter Mudau confirmed the incident. He added that they were still investigating.
Lt Mudau said the man was admitted to Musina Hospital where his condition was reportedly critical.
The incident occurred on Saturday at about 10am at the Musina Central Business District.
According to witnesses, the man is suspected to have recently conned a Zimbabwean woman of R500 before he disappeared into the busy streets of the border town.
On the fateful day, the woman who was allegedly conned spotted the man and managed to recognise him.
"She then alerted community members and they descended on the man and started assaulting him using fists and sticks while the woman who claimed to have been duped screamed and shouted demanding her money back. The man sustained injuries all over the body and he was rescued by police officers who were on patrol," said a witness.
Scores of curious shoppers reportedly cheered as the "conman" was being beaten up.
Chronicle yesterday caught up with the woman who claimed to have been conned by the man.
"I was doing window shopping when this man approached me. He appeared so innocent and asked me if I could assist him in changing his United States dollars into rand, saying he wasn't familiar with the town. He then asked me to accompany him to a place where he could do the currency exchange and out of sheer pity I decided to help and that was the worst mistake I made!" said the woman who declined to be named.
Without asking his name, the woman walked with the man for about 100 metres during which he asked her if she had the South African currency.
"He said he wanted to see a sample of the South African money as he was afraid that he might be conned when we did the exchange. I told him that I had R500 in cash and he asked me to give it to him and I gave him the money because he was so kind and I did not suspect anything," said the woman.
The man then reportedly opened his bag and took out some newspapers, which he used to wrap the woman's money.
"He put the money in his bag and then took it out again before he returned it to me before immediately vanishing into the busy shopping centre," said the woman.
On unwrapping the newspapers, the woman discovered that all her money had disappeared. She met the man a few days later and managed to recognise him.
"I immediately recognised the man crossing the busy street. I then shouted for help and the members of the public ran after him until they caught him," she said.
After a thorough beating, the man was found with R250 in his pocket. He was, however, rescued by police from the angry mob.
The South African police spokesperson for Musina, Lieutenant Peter Mudau confirmed the incident. He added that they were still investigating.
Lt Mudau said the man was admitted to Musina Hospital where his condition was reportedly critical.
Source - TC
