Skeletal remains found in Empangeni greenbelt
According to the resident, two men had tried to break into his home on Tuesday night but were disturbed once they realised that someone was home
AN Empangeni resident’s search for burglars led to the gruesome discovery of skeletal remains in a bush near a greenbelt.
According to the resident, two men had tried to break into his home on Tuesday night but were disturbed once they realised that someone was home.
After alerting the police and CPF, the man inspected the greenbelt area around his home to make sure that the burglars were not hiding there.
It was then that he found the decomposed body.
‘There are homeless people who set up camp in the bushes and the skeletal remains were found on a mattress in the bush.’
A police source told the ZO they suspected the remains had been in the bushes for months.
‘The man probably died in his sleep and his body was never discovered.’
Empangeni Police Forum (CPF) Chairperson Zonita Grobbelaar said people setting up camp in bushes around Empangeni were becoming a problem.
‘Many homeless people erect shelters in sugar cane fields and bushes around the area and often this is done near residential areas.
‘There was a case a few months ago, when a man was burnt alive in a sugar cane field because the farmers did not know he was there.
‘Residents have felt unsafe after seeing various shelters being erected, which reached its peak during the cold winter season, because you get homeless people from other areas coming into town because of the warm temperatures.
‘While the CPF actively works to monitor and break down temporary shelters in residential areas, the issue sometimes does get uncontrollable.’
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