A video of a mob justice attack in Sea Point has gone viral.
It is alleged that a man robbed a woman of her cellphone, but he was caught and given a pak slae by several men.
The video emerged shortly after the attack on Tuesday after it was posted on crime groups and community pages on Facebook.
Sea Point has seen a drastic increase in robberies, including chain snatching and victims being robbed of their cellphones and personal belongings on the street.
Crimefighters have attributed the robberies to an increase in street children roaming the area.
This is the first reported incident of the community fighting back.
The footage shows four men moering the suspect as the female victim, a foreigner, runs to the rescue of the robber.
She goes back to the other side of the road as more men get close.
The suspect can be heard screaming for mercy while a man dressed in navy blue and white shorts and a black vest whips him with a stick.
Two other men kick the crying suspect while a woman’s voice in the background shouts in isiXhosa: “Hit him!”
The alleged cell phone robber, wearing a white top and blue jeans, lies in a foetal position as the attackers start beating him up and kicking him in the head.
The men ask the boef: “Where is the phone?”
The victim tells the suspect: “I forgive you.”
But the dief is assaulted again by the mob, and the woman screams: “Guys, please stop it! You don’t have to beat him.”
Sea Point City Improvement District (SPCID) chairperson Jacques Weber confirmed the unusual incident and said the alleged robber was arrested by police, who arrived on the scene some time later.
Weber says: “The lady was walking, one guy stole her phone, she chased him up Hall Road, members of the public saw what was going on, they assisted in chasing and caught the suspect, and as the video shows they gave him a few hidings. They smacked him and you could hear the woman, she was a foreigner.
“I think it shocked her and she said stop it, I forgive him, but ultimately, the cellphone was recovered and a few minutes later he was arrested and taken to the SAPS and a criminal case was opened by the lady.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirms: “A 30-year-old man was arrested on a charge of robbery which occurred on Tuesday, 13 February 2024, in Sea Point.
“He will appear in the Cape Town Magistrates’ court this morning.”