In a period of about 24 hours after an automatic teller machine (ATM) was bombed at Lwamondo Garage outside Thohoyandou last Saturday night, another similar incident took place at Hamaphalle Village in the Bolobedu area outside Tzaneen on Sunday morning at about 02:30.

Supt Moatshe Ngoepe, the spokesperson of the SAPS in the Mopani area, said that four armed men who were travelling in a Toyota Venture arrived at the scene and pretended that they wanted to withdraw some cash from the ATM machine.

According to the police statement, there was a bomb blast moments thereafter, causing a lot of damage to the machine. The statement further indicates that the robbers took an undisclosed amount of money before leaving the place.

The statement indicates that the robbers left some cash at the scene when they drove off. Supt Ngoepe said that there were two security guards at the vicinity when the incident took place. Preliminary investigations by the police had revealed that the guards allegedly took the remaining cash after the departure of the robbers.

An argument ensued between the two security guards over the spoils. The situation took an ugly turn when the two guards started to fight over the spoils. The deceased, Moses Sibiya (36) of Dan Village, was overpowered during the ordeal.

He fell down and the suspect allegedly doused him with petrol before setting him alight. The deceased was taken to the nearby hospital where he died shortly after admission. The search for the robbers was still on at the time of going to press and no arrest has been made regarding the death of the security guard. The police are investigating the matter further.