As the national lockdown enters it's second week, with bottle stores and bars closed, the urge to get a quick fix in the form of booze is becoming more and more unbearable for many.
Under Lockdown regulations, alcohol sales and consumption in public spaces are prohibited until midnight on April 16.
Eager to quench their thirst after a dry week, a group of thugs in Langa township outside Cape Town, went on the rampage as they broke into a liquor outlet and stole booze.
This in full view of stunned shoppers who watched in disbelief as the drama unfolded at the Langa Shoprite liquor store.
The thirsty looters made off with dozens of beer, wine and whiskey bottles in a flash. The incident took place in full view of the mall's helpless security personnel who could only watch.
When police eventually arrived, the liquor store had almost been cleaned out and the looters were nowhere to be found. Zolile Mehlomakhulu, who witnessed the incident as it unfolded, told Daily Sun it happened so quickly.
"I was busy pushing my trolley with my wife out of Shoprite when I heard people screaming and shouting outside. I thought there was a robbery. The next thing I saw people running out of the liquor store carrying large amounts of booze. It was as if I was watching a movie," he said.
A Shoprite employee who wanted to remain anonymous estimated the damage to hundreds of thousands of rands. Another bystander, Busiswa Velem, said it was high time that Government "rethinks the booze regulations."
She said: "This is bound to escalate to other townships and even countrywide. There is no denying the fact that we are a drinking nation. Perhaps they should just open liquor stores for certain hours. Otherwise criminals are gonna continue targeting these liquor stores."
Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk had not yet responded by the time of writing
