Tea Seller Fatally Punches Customer Who Refused To Pay In Full For His Order

A tea seller allegedly killed one of his customers for not paying enough money for tea in Arepo, Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria.

The victim, identified as Musa, reportedly bought a cup of tea from the accused, Hamidu, and paid only 40 Nigerian Naira (US$0.096) instead of the beverage's real price of 50 Nigerian Naira (US$0.12). Hamidu, who was left angered after being shortchanged, resorted to violence, and allegedly landed a fatal punch to Musa's chest. The victim immediately fell over and seized before subsequently being declared dead on the spot, Punch Newspapers reported.

Olayiwola Ogunsolu, who serves as the leader of the Odua People’s Congress (New Era), related that, while he was in the area on Wednesday, March 2, he heard the commotion near the Hausa community and rushed to the spot.

When he reached the scene, he saw the victim on the ground and got wind that the tea seller had killed his customer over the man's refusal to pay in full for a cup of tea. Ogunsolu said that he immediately called the Warewa Police Station and alerted them about the incident.

“We called the DPO of Warewa Police Station and he sent reinforcement. The police later took the suspect away,” he related.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Hausa community in the area, Usman Shehu, said he was not aware of the incident.

“Such an incident would not have passed me by as the head of the Arewa community in this place,” he added.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a man identified as Parmeshwar Kokate, 28, a mechanic by profession, reportedly had an argument with the victim Raju Patil, 40, over a US$1.34 loan (100 Indian Rupees) that Patil had borrowed from his cousin. When Patil refused to return the money, Kokate got visibly agitated and strangled Patil to death following the confrontation in Dahisar, Mumbai, India, Latin Times reported.

According to the police investigation, between Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, an altercation had ensued between Patil and Kokate regarding the former's loan from Kokate. Following the argument, Kokate strangled his cousin to death with a plastic string. Following this, he threw a blanket over the victim's body and tried to set it ablaze to destroy evidence and mislead his family members from identifying the remains.

Patil's family members later filed a missing person case and an investigation into his disappearance was launched. The inquiry led the officers to suspect Kokate and he was arrested within 24 hours after the murder.

Following the incident, the Dahisar police arrested Kokate and registered a suo-moto case against him under sections 201 (disappearance of evidence) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.