Cops must not botch this shocking case

We're told police crime scene work is not like a TV show, but surely collecting and safeguarding potential pieces of evidence is vital to building a case to present in court?

This is the secondary shock we had at the weekend, as we report on a man who speaks of a miraculous escape from vile criminals. He came round from being tranquillised to find himself bound, in a bloodbath, literally, and with evidence of a scalpel having been used on him.

The bathroom where he says the attack took place is not locked, nor sealed off with crime tape. Police have come and gone, we're told. But the roll of tape he says he was bound with is still there. Other possible items of interest are visible. Were fingerprints taken? Has a full forensic investigation been done?

Photographs too shocking to publish here show Mzwandile Ntuli, a Johannesburg resident originally from Sebokeng, when he was rescued. The denigration he was put through is disturbing to contemplate.

His emotions, both at that moment of realisation and as he recovers, give pause for thought.

The would-be victim is someone who may not have been missed by anyone in the maelstrom of downtown Johannesburg, home to migrants from other provinces and the continent, notorious for its lawlessness.

All lives matter. His vulnerability makes it even more important that we should care about what happened to him. And that his attackers are jailed.

We need to ensure that the police working this crime scene do justice to it. The prosecution must be given enough evidence to present to court, not a shoddy case that will allow those men to walk free.

We hope our shock is misplaced and that an experienced detective is on the job to ensure a watertight case is being built.