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Five teenagers - one of them the son a retired police officer – are expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Thursday following the brutal murder of a Polokwane man whose bloody body was discovered in a street in Flora Park over the weekend.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday afternoon.
According to police, the alleged mob attack took place on Saturday evening and the man succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
"To compound the ruthlessness of the attack on the man, not only are the suspects involved between the ages of 15 and 16 years old, but the incident was also filmed and posted on social media," the office of national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole said in a statement on Wednesday.
READ UPDATE: Police nab five people for Limpopo mob murder
A video of the victim being carried by a group of people had been circulating on social media, with Twitter users claiming the suspects involved in the attack were pupils from Capricorn High School.
"The social media post also reflected one of the young suspects claiming to be a son of a senior policeman and that the police could do nothing about what he had done. The same suspect is now among those behind bars and he is the son of a retired SAPS warrant officer. His arrest is clearly indicative that nobody can claim to be above the law and expect to get away with heinous deeds."
The suspects are in grades 9 and 10. They are facing a murder charge.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo told News24 on Wednesday that the victim's name should not yet be revealed as his next of kin had not yet been informed of his death.
"We are also investigating whether he himself had been involved in a criminal act, so we are deliberately not naming him," Naidoo said.
Son 'confesses' to retired cop father
On Wednesday, TimesLive reported that the retired officer revealed his son confessed to kicking the man several times.
The boy reportedly told his father that the victim had stolen a cellphone belonging to one of his friends.
In the video the posted to social media a young boy can be heard telling people his father was "untouchable", but the former cop said this was untrue, Sowetan reported.
The man is reported to have said his son has never been involved in crime.
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