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Johannesburg — A man accused of locking his children up for eight years in a hostel room was expected to appear in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Monday, Johannesburg police said. “The man will appear on charges of child neglect,” Captain Kym Cloete said. He was arrested on Friday. The Daily Sun on Monday reported that a 50-year-old gardener and his 46-year-old wife had kept their four children locked in a room in the Nobuhle hostel for eight years.
The eldest child, a 24-year-old man, was chained up when his parents went out.
The children were freed on Friday after he broke free. He was admitted to hospital with bruised hands and legs. The father reportedly said he had to lock the eldest son up because he was mentally ill. “He becomes very violent so I had to keep him chained in the house,” he was quoted as saying.
The man reportedly told police and social workers that he locked his children up because the world was dangerous and he did not want them killed.
The children were taken to a place of safety. — Sapa.
derick.khumalo