Four suspects have been arrested and have appeared in court in connection with an attack on an off-duty policeman after an argument in a tavern in the Ulundi area in northern KwaZulu-Natal last Friday. The police officer was shot in the stomach as he was leaving the tavern with friends‚ allegedly by a man with whom he had earlier had an argument and who had followed him from the establishment‚ according to police spokesman Major Thulane Zwane.“The police officer returned fire wounding the suspect and the officer fled the scene on foot leaving his vehicle behind. It is believed that the suspect’s friends set his vehicle alight.“Later the police officer sought help from the neighbours who took him to a local hospital for treatment‚” Zwane said.He added that the suspect was also taken to hospital where he was arrested by the Hawks based at Richards Bay and charged with attempted murder and malicious damage to property.Police also recovered a firearm believed to have been used during the shooting.Three other suspects were later also arrested and charged with malicious damage to property.The suspects appeared in the Mahlabathini Magistrate’s Court on Monday and were remanded in custody until January 18 for a bail application hearing.KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni condemned the attack and praised police for their hard work leading to the speedy arrest of the suspects.“We will ensure that the case is thoroughly investigated so that the suspects will be convicted and sentenced accordingly. The recovered firearm will be sent for ballistic tests to establish if it was used in any other crime in the province‚” she said...