Joburg to raid liquor outlets over holiday weekends as assaults increase
The City of Johannesburg is planning to increase raids on liquor outlets over holiday weekends after emergency services were forced to respond to more assaults than road crashes. Synock Matobako‚ spokesperson for Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS)‚ said the unit was busy at the weekend. "In the morning yesterday we responded to 115 motor vehicle accidents and 137 incidents of assault." Official figures for road fatalities over the Easter weekend are yet to be released by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande. Matobako said there was a close link between alcohol consumption and assault cases reported in the city. "People think that the Easter weekend is time to relax and have fun. Those that are Christian will go to church. Those who don’t go to church use this time to be in a jovial mood and use the time to relax. That is why you will have more of fighting because of the alcohol consumption," he said. "We conducted a raid together with the Johannesburg Metro Police and Sou...
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