WATERVAL – The barman of Hughes Bottle Store at Waterval, who was selling liquor on Good Friday, was found hiding in the deep freeze by the Waterval SAPS during their operations around the area on April 9.

Insp Maano Sadike of the Waterval SAPS said that the operation team saw a lot of people drinking at the bottle store and eventually went there. They found the front door partially closed, but with the backdoor wide open. "When we got inside the store, we found a woman hiding behind the counter and as we continued with our search, we found a man hiding in deep freeze, shivering with cold," he said.

Sadike said that a case of violation of the condition of the liquor licence holder has been laid against the two and they were still expected to appear in the Waterval Magistrate's Court soon. "We are appealing to all bottle store owners to be supportive by complying with the liquor licence holder laws; our operations are not meant to disrupt their businesses, but bottle stores must be closed on holidays," he said.