The Age has since admitted that a typographical error may very well have given the impression that the original incident did in fact occur in SA.’s East London. The Age has apologized to the entire population of South Africa, and has promised not to do it again.
In a statement to the press, Pik Van Der Merwe, personal secretary to the SA president, quoting Mr Paul Keating, had the following to say:
‘…The Age journalists, ‘an unrepresentative swill’ in the ‘the arsehole of the world’ should learn to keep their ill-informed, parochial mouths shut, at least until they know what (or where) they are talking about…’
Meanwhile, in response to the attack on a Melbourne man in east London (England’s capital city) who intervened when louts set about a mother and child the British Government had the following to say:
‘When Good Samaritan Tim Smits was brutally attacked on public transport whilst coming to the rescue of a woman and child, it very much made the Government aware that something urgent and substantial needed to be done if bravery of this nature were to be encouraged rather than discouraged.
In light of this, and considering every aspect of this dire situation, where honest, decent, unarmed folk cannot go about their lawful business without fear of assault, the British Government has decided on the following:
1. All property owning folk, of good standing in the community, (apologies for the tautology, Ed) will be issued with Walther PPK, a semi-automatic assault rifle and ammunition.
2. Public Transport officials will henceforth be drawn from retired Special Forces personnel and will carry a Walther PPK hand gun at all times.
3. In cases of assault, the perpetrators, when caught, will summarily be executed, there and then, on the first available platform. This will provide a powerful deterrent to would be attackers, especially if the cadavers are left on the platform overnight.
Ronald Arthur Stanley Putin (no relation)