A Shoprite employee appeared in court in Butterworth on Tuesday after supporters of a strike stopped a shopper and forced her to drink the fish oil she had just bought.
Captain Jackson Manatha said the 19-year-old woman from Ngqamakhwe had visited the Shoprite store in Butterworth on Monday. Workers at Shoprite stores around the country are currently on strike over wages and there have been calls for consumer boycotts of the stores in some areas.
After shopping, the teenager was confronted by three women who demanded to know why she had shopped at the store during the strike.
”The trio took out a two-litre bottle of fish oil from her groceries and caused the woman to drink the fish oil,” said Manatha.
When she had drunk half they poured the rest over her head and body.
One suspect, Khunjulwa Mhletywa (29) was arrested and appeared in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on a charge of intimidation.
The case was postponed to September 12 and Mhletywa was released on warning.
The branch manager of Shoprite Siyavume in Butterworth, Deon van der Merwe, confirmed that Mhletywa was employed at the store. — Sapa