Tigers Maul S.African Robber After Botched Heist

March 11, 2002

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A thief escaping from a botched robbery at a game sanctuary near Johannesburg made a fatal mistake when he climbed a high fence and found himself in the tigers' den, police said Monday.

"They grabbed him and first played with him. He died of a broken neck and a fractured skull," police spokeswoman Milica Bezuidenhout told Reuters. The body was removed after the tigers, a male and a female, had been sedated, she said.

The 28-year-old victim, a South African, and an accomplice had held up the gate guard at the Rhino and Lion Reserve at Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, Saturday, but fled when staff and visitors became suspicious and chased them.

The accomplice and the driver of the getaway car were arrested and were to appear in court later Monday, Bezuidenhout said.

Copyright © 2002 Netscape. All rights reserved.

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