The awaiting trial prisoner who was out on bail for robbery, arrived at the department of correctional services, Middelburg, in the Eastern Cape, about 7am to sign his bail conditions.
After requesting permission to use the toilet, he escaped through a window and used a ladder to gain access to the second floor of the Karoo Country Inn Hotel.Police began negotiating with him, and a friend was also allowed to approach the building in an attempt to convince him to come down.
He smoked cigarettes that had been handed to him by a policeman who had climbed a fire brigade ladder to talk to him. After the man threatened to climb on to an air conditioning unit and jump to his death, the police officer again climbed the ladder and eventually convinced the visibly distressed man to leave the roof with him.
According to bystanders, who had engaged him while on the roof, he said he was scared of returning to prison and he would sooner end his life.
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