An elderly man, accused of shoplifting, endured a harrowing ordeal after security officers allegedly locked him in a freezer for several hours, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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According to IOL, on Sunday before noon, Sandile Khwintshi (52) was apprehended at Shoprite in Gugulethu Mall with two small drills.
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Following his arrest, he was taken to the operational offices, where he was allegedly assaulted by staff members before being locked in a cold storage unit.
The man explained: ‘I was at Shoprite on Sunday when a man I know asked me to keep the drills. I thought he bought them so I walked out of the shop.’
‘The security stopped me and said I had stolen the items. I kept trying to explain to them that I had not taken the drilling machines but they didn’t want to hear anything. They said I was the thief.’
‘They beat me up and then they threw me in the walk-in freezer.’
He recounted that he was left in the ice-cold room without any checks from the staff until closing time.
‘I was in the freezer from 12pm in the afternoon until 7pm when the shop was closed.’
‘The staff didn’t come to check on me at all up until they released me.’
‘By the time they came to me I was really cold, shivering and in pain because of the beating, my thumb was swollen. Emotionally, I’m still not feeling good. I am planning on opening a case against Shoprite.’
Gugulethu CPF spokesperson Linda Kabeni said they were deeply shocked by the incident.
‘At a time when we are supposed to be celebrating the democratic dispensation, a black person is still not being respected.’
‘When someone has been accused of theft, in our understanding, law enforcement agencies must be called; you don’t put people into fridges.’
‘We are dismayed by Shoprite but we understand why they did it, it’s because it’s a poor black person who has no means of taking legal action against Shoprite.’
‘We are calling upon all Chapter 9 institutions, like the SA Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector and the media to hold Shoprite accountable for their actions.’
Shoprite stated that initial reports indicate no one was held in a cold storage facility at Shoprite Gugulethu on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said police were investigating a case of kidnapping and that no arrests have been made.
‘As it is a police matter, we cannot provide further comment. We will give our full co-operation to the South African Police Service (SAPS) to assist their investigations.’
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