JOHANNESBURG (Reuters)
Fleeing from police, Isaac
Mofokeng ran blindly into the local zoo and
jumped over a low wall into one
of the enclosures. Big mistake.
For the pen belonged to Max the gorilla, who did not appreciate
the sudden invasion of his privacy.
"The first thing the gorilla did was rip my jeans and bite me
on the buttocks," Mofokeng told a
Johannesburg court Wednesday. "I thought my last hour had
come."
Max became a folk hero in July 1997 when he helped apprehend
Mofokeng as he ran from the police
after allegedly finding a firearm outside a house and scaring
the homeowners with it.
Mofokeng denies 11 charges including housebreaking, robbery and,
separately, malicious damage to Max.
In the enclosure, Max pinned the fleeing man against his wall
and kept guard even after Mofokeng shot
him in the chest with the pistol, the Citizen newspaper reported
Thursday.
"Max then dropped me and I fell into the water. (He) ran around
and became violent, grabbed me by my
right leg, swung me around and threw me against the wall and I
became dizzy," Mofokeng told the court.
The trial continues.
