Train guards beat me up – commuter
Man accused of not having a ticket
A Soweto shop assistant was allegedly assaulted by security guards at a train station in Naledi, accusing him of boarding the train without a ticket. Thulani Pooe, 30, spent the day at the Tladi and Zola clinics nursing bruises, swollen arms and body after five guards allegedly attacked him on Tuesday evening. He alleged that he was robbed of money and cigarettes during the attack. Pooe was left with torn pants and a bloodied top after the alleged attack.
He told Sowetan he was isolated from other commuters, handcuffed and then repeatedly punched and kicked by the guards. “When we arrived at Naledi Station, security guards were stopping commuters, checking tickets and there was commotion on the other side of the platform, the next moment a gunshot went off, and I immediately ran away after hearing the sound of the gun,” Pooe said.
He said the guards apprehended him, cuffed his arms and locked him in a holding room where they attacked him. “I had my train ticket on me, but they didn’t even ask for a ticket, they just continued to beat me up, all five of them for about 15 minutes before splashing me with water and let me go while I was bleeding,” Pooe said.
He said he realised after the incident that the R900 he had on him was gone.
A passerby who recognised Pooe called his mother, Mary, to notify her of what was happening to him. “I rushed and made my way to the station... my son can’t just be beaten up for no reason and nothing happens to the perpetrators.” Pooe said he had opend a case of assault with the police. Naledi police spokesperson Thulani Mbambala could not immediately confirm whether the case was opened or not. Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng said the incident was not recorded on the station’s daily occurrence report. “No employee or supplier has a mandate to assault commuters,” she said.
She said Pooe’s, like each case when reported to them, was going to be investigated.
“They didn’t even ask for a ticket, they just continued to beat me up, all five of them ” Thulani Pooe METRORAIL PASSENGER