Cape Town - No one has been arrested after bathing boxes at St James Beach were destroyed by fire over the weekend.
The City said law enforcement officers discovered three of the iconic boxes on fire at about 1am on Saturday.
“The fire was extinguished by the fire department. Three boxes were completely gutted and two partially damaged. The cause of the fire is unknown,” said a spokesperson.
The City of Cape Town said that prior to the fire occurring, the beach boxes were in a poor state due to a combination of wear and tear and vandalism.
“The City, therefore, had already drafted a proposal for the refurbishment of these beach boxes as part of its Coastal Optimization plan.
“The City shares the public’s view of the importance of these beach boxes as an iconic and historical part of the St. James landscape and assures the public that they will remain part of the St James landscape in the future,” said Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayco Member for Spatial Planning and Environment.
Nieuwoudt added that maintenance and security issues associated with these bathing boxes is currently being revisited and addressed through the City’s Coastal Optimisation process.
“Proposed solutions have been developed and will be communicated to the public once endorsed by the City.”
Over the weekend police arrested more than 700 suspects for an array of crimes. They are set to appear in court this week.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said in a concerted effort to create safe environments in local communities, officers from police stations in the province embarked on various operations over the weekend, that resulted in 712 arrests.
Potelwa said the suspects were arrested for crimes ranging from burglary, possession of stolen property, dealing in liquor to illegal possession of dangerous weapons including firearms, and murder and attempted murder.
“The forces comprising visible police and detectives confiscated 517 litres of alcohol and an assortment of drugs such as cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and mandrax tablets,” she said.
She said 1443 fines to the value of R1.65 million were issued for contravention of Disaster Management Act regulations, which, among others, included the sale of tobacco and failure to be confined to residence.
Several wanted suspects were arrested in tracing operations.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said police were investigating cases of murder, attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition following a shooting incident on Thursday afternoon at about 3pm at Mapongwane in Site C, Khayelitsha.
Rwexana said officers on crime-prevention patrols in the area were alerted to a shooting incident at an address.
“Upon their arrival, they found three men aged between 26 and 30 with gunshot wounds. Two of them died on the scene and the other was transported to a medical facility for treatment,” Rwexana said.
She said three unlicensed firearms were found at the scene. “A police member was also shot and injured during this incident.” The death of one of the men was being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or police via the MySAPS app.
Cape Argus