Suspect Didn't Morph into Goat, Police Insist
Authorities dismiss any supernatural explanations and maintain there is no evidence linking the individual to the goat discovered at the hospital.
MONKEY BAY, Malawi— Police in Mangochi's Monkey Bay have refuted speculations that a suspect accused of goat theft transformed into a goat at Monkey Bay Community Hospital where he was receiving medical treatment, writes Maureen Kawerama.
"There is absolutely no truth to these outlandish claims," said police spokesperson Alice Sichali.
On Monday morning, social media erupted with speculation that the suspect had shapeshifted into a goat after mysteriously vanishing from the hospital ward.
In his place, a goat was allegedly discovered. This surprising development triggered a frantic manhunt for the missing suspect.
According to Sichali, the individual was arrested sometime back on suspicion of stealing a goat from a village in the area.
After being apprehended on Sunday, the suspect reportedly fell ill while in police custody prompting officers to transfer him to the hospital for medical attention.
Sichali asserted that hospital officials did alert police on Monday morning that the suspect had disappeared, and a goat was indeed found in his ward.
However, she vehemently denied any connection between the man and the goat.
"The suspect is a human being, not a shapeshifter," Sichali said.
"This is simply a case of an escaped suspect, nothing more."
After a search, police successfully located and re-arrested the suspect in question. The origins of the goat remain unknown.
Authorities dismiss any supernatural explanations and maintain there is no evidence linking the individual to the goat discovered at the hospital.
They insist the situation was the result of nothing more than a routine case of a suspect fleeing custody.