RESIDENTS of Kleinskool in Nelson Mandela Bay came to blows yesterday after municipal workers switched off their electricity supply to retrieve the body of a teenager found lying in a pool of water.
As soon as the electricity was turned off residents cheered, but minutes later they were at each others’ throats as they fought to get their hands on the power cables, which are often removed and sold illegally.
Some community members claimed Donawen Malgas, 18, whose body was found in a pool of water yesterday morning, was electrocuted after trying to connect a cable to the main supply illegally, although police could not confirm the allegation.
Residents flocked to the scene and watched as police removed the body.
Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said it appeared Malgas had been shocked to death as he had burn wounds all over his body.
In the area where the body was found, cabling used for illegal electricity connections is connected to the municipality’s main electricity supply.
The cables span over hundreds of metres and run through water in the bushy terrain to homes and nearby shacks.
Malgas’s father, Solomon Booysen, said he last saw his son on Thursday.
"When we did not hear from him on Friday we came looking for him in this area. I reported him missing on Saturday.
"We searched the area over the weekend but could not find him. I found his body in the water when I came looking for him again [yesterday] morning,” Booysen said.
