BY Obakeng Maje

On Sunday, 2012-05-27, at about 20:30, a family member went to his brother’s house in Manzil Park, as he became worried after his brother did not answer his phone.

On arrival at his brother’s house, he saw that the kitchen door was open and unlocked. He entered the house and discovered his severely assaulted 65-year-old, sister unconscious, laying on the kitchen floor with head injuries. The house was ransacked.

He also found his 67-year-old brother in the bedroom, also severely assaulted on the head and unconscious. The ambulance and Police were called to the scene and both injured victims were taken to the local hospital for medical treatment.

“In the mean time, community members in Manzil Park started arriving at the crime scene, after sms’es and other messages were being circulated amongst the community. By the time the Police arrived at the scene, about 30 members of the community were inside the house, contaminating the crime scene and destroying physical evidence” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

The Police removed them from the crime scene, that was already tampered with.

Bibi Cajee (65 years) passed away at 22:00 on Sunday, 2012-05-27, in hospital, due to the injuries that she have sustained during the incident. At this stage only jewelry are reported as missing from the house and the suspects are unknown. The police are investigating  cases of house robbery, murder and attempted murder.

The Provincial Commissioner of the North West , Lt Gen Zukiswa Mbombo requested the Community to assist the police by not contaminating any crime scene.

If the community would like to show their support, it is best to remain a safe distance from any crime scene. The police gather physical evidence like foot prints, vehicle tracks, DNA samples (example blood, hair, clothing fibers, dirt) and fingerprints, to just name a few.

If any person enters a crime scene, the physical evidence can be stepped on and be lost forever, hampering the police investigations.