(Photo: MambaOnline.com)

David Olyn, a 21-year old gay man, was tortured and burned alive in South Africa last weekend in an apparent hate crime, according to local news outlet Mamba Online. 

A group of several teenagers claimed that the 28-year-old murder suspect had invited them Saturday night to watch him "kill a moffie," a derogatory Afrikaans term for "fag."

The young audience arrived to find Olyn covered in blood and bound with wire. The attacker then allegedly used a brick to bash Olyn's head, jumped on his face and set him on fire.  

Authorities were not alerted about the attack until the following day, when they were informed by a woman the teens had told that morning, when they returned.

Apparently, the young witnesses had left the scene without mentioning the incident and returned on Sunday to check on Olyn, only to find his lifeless and burnt body. 

Police arrested the suspect in connection with the assault later on March 30.

"I spoke to those kids and they were kicking a ball around and I though that perhaps they needed help or counselling, but this was nothing new for them," said Maahir Pretorious, a senior reporter at a local Afrikaans newspaper. 

"They are exposed to violence on a daily basis." 

According to the Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights First, South Africa has seen a dramatic rise in hate crime violence against the LGBT community, particularly lesbians who are attacked via "corrective" rape, despite the country's offering the best legal protection and recognition for gay rights in Africa.
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