Police arrest owner of South Africa bar where 21 youths died

• The proprietor of the pub in South Africa where 21 teens inexplicably died last month has been arrested.
• Authorities are probing the possibility of accidental poisoning.
• The 52-year-old is set to appear before the East London Magistrates’ Court on August 19.

CAPE TOWN: Police in the Eastern Cape province said on Wednesday that the proprietor of the bar in the South African coastal town of East London where 21 teens inexplicably died last month, has been arrested.

Authorities are also probing the possibility of unintentional poisoning, according to a person with knowledge of the inquiry. Forensic experts have yet to reveal their results regarding the teens’ cause of death.

In a society accustomed to victims of a prevalent binge drinking culture, there has been an outpouring of grief over the killings at the nightclub in Scenery Park municipality.

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Angry mobs of some fatalities have alleged that calls to close the tavern were ignored for weeks.

Provincial police stated in a statement that the 52-year-old proprietor of the pub was arrested over the weekend, followed by the arrests of two staff members on Tuesday.

The proprietor is set to appear before the East London Magistrates’ Court on August 19 to face charges related to the alleged selling of alcohol to minors, as per the statement.

In the statement, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene remarked, “Just as we said in the beginning, investigation is a process and needs to be treated with extreme care.”

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