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Man on trial for battery-acid death of girlfriend

Pietermaritzburg - A young woman from Imbali died after her partner allegedly forced her to drink battery acid two weeks ago.

According to Plessislaer police spokesperson Captain Musa Ntombela, Siphiwe Mbanjwa, 35, appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on charges relating to the murder of his girlfriend on Monday.

The incident, which happened on August 21, left the township community in despair and the police hunting for the woman’s alleged killer.

On Thursday last week, Plessislaer detectives conducted a joint operation to trace outstanding suspects in the area and on Friday last week, only a day later, the team of officers arrested Mbanjwa.

According to Ntombela, it is alleged that Sibongile Phungula, 23, came to her Imbali home crying just before midnight on August 21. She reportedly told her relatives that her boyfriend had forced her to drink battery acid and also poured the remaining acid on her face.

Phungula died the next day in the Edendale Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

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