Robbers push schoolboy off moving train

File picture: sxc.hu

File picture: sxc.hu

Published Jun 23, 2014

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Durban- A teenager is recovering in hospital after he was robbed of his cellphone and pushed from a moving train on Friday.

The boy, 14, who sustained serious facial injuries, was travelling home to Mandawe near Scottburgh.

He was shoved off near Warner Beach, south of Durban.

He is believed to have been wearing headphones when he was attacked.

His assailants - two unknown men who had pretended to be commuters - fled the scene.

Metrorail’s KZN regional spokesman, Zama Nomnganga, said investigations were under way.

He said the teenager was recovering well and could now open his eyes.

“They are criminals pretending to be commuters,” he said.

But this was an isolated incident and commuters should not panic, he added.

“This happened during the day when the boy was returning home from school.

“He probably had his headphones on and was defenceless to the attack,” Nomnganga said.

He advised passengers to alert security on the train to any suspicious activity.

Nomnganga said Metrorail would have to beef up its security and strengthen its partnership with the police in a bid to combat crime in the coaches.

“The community relies solely on trains for transport and they need to be safe all the time.”

He said the chief executive of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Lucky Montana, had declared this year the year of safety on trains and that any culprit found doing wrong, including surfing – riding on top of a train for a thrill – or hanging out of a moving train, would be dealt with.

Last year, the Daily News reported the death of an uMlazi teenager, Msizi Nzama, 16, who slipped on the roof of a train while he was surfing with his friends.

When asked how Metrorail would act against such transgressions and other criminal elements on the trains, Nomnganga said: “If a person is caught surfing on our trains, he will be made an example of and never again will this happen.”

Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, said the incident had not been reported to the SAPS.

“We appeal to the victim to open a case once he is discharged from hospital.”

Daily News

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