By Hendrick Mphande
A shocked FNB customer on Monday described her disbelief at seeing three people, believed to be loan sharks, pushing a corpse in a wheelchair into the North End branch "to make a pension withdrawal".
Officials at Mount Road police mortuary on Monday identified the dead man as Thozamile Patrick Apolis, 40, of Magi Street, Zwide.
Mimi Maku, who witnessed the event on Friday, said two men and a woman arrived at the bank in a bakkie.
"Immediately the trio forced the body of Apolis into a wheelchair and proceeded straight to the teller."
"When the teller requested that Apolis sign, the woman said he was sick and she was his next of kin."
Maku said the teller insisted that they wake Apolis, so another bank client tried to check his pulse.
Earlier the trio had apparently taken Apolis to Home Affairs to get an identity document so that he could "withdraw his pension money".
FNB Provincial executive in the Eastern Cape, Gareth Davies, said one of the men, a Mr Manyonya, allegedly introduced himself to bank officials as Apolis's cousin.
"FNB staff immediately contacted Netcare 911 when there was no response from the man," Davies said.
Police spokesperson Thembi Gwe said they would investigate if complaints were laid by FNB or Apolis's relatives.
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on June 09, 2004
A shocked FNB customer on Monday described her disbelief at seeing three people, believed to be loan sharks, pushing a corpse in a wheelchair into the North End branch "to make a pension withdrawal".
Officials at Mount Road police mortuary on Monday identified the dead man as Thozamile Patrick Apolis, 40, of Magi Street, Zwide.
Mimi Maku, who witnessed the event on Friday, said two men and a woman arrived at the bank in a bakkie.
"Immediately the trio forced the body of Apolis into a wheelchair and proceeded straight to the teller."
"When the teller requested that Apolis sign, the woman said he was sick and she was his next of kin."
Maku said the teller insisted that they wake Apolis, so another bank client tried to check his pulse.
Earlier the trio had apparently taken Apolis to Home Affairs to get an identity document so that he could "withdraw his pension money".
FNB Provincial executive in the Eastern Cape, Gareth Davies, said one of the men, a Mr Manyonya, allegedly introduced himself to bank officials as Apolis's cousin.
"FNB staff immediately contacted Netcare 911 when there was no response from the man," Davies said.
Police spokesperson Thembi Gwe said they would investigate if complaints were laid by FNB or Apolis's relatives.
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on June 09, 2004
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