Looters descended upon another Tops at Spar in Belhar, Cape Town on Thursday, flouting not only social distancing rules, but the law at large.

With the lockdown in full effect, alcohol sales are prohibited across South Africa, meaning liquor stores have been forced to close down throughout the 21-day period.

Throats remain open despite lockdown

Despite the closure of all beer holes in the Republic, the less law-fearing members of the public have displayed a thirst for disorder, helping themselves to unmanned bottle stores, particularly in Cape Town, where no less than three outlets have been robbed since the strict lockdown regulations took effect.

Suburbs such as Langa and Elsies River have experienced looting in the past week, with suspects making off with countless bottles.

On Thursday it was the turn of the Belhar Tops which, according to IOL, was broken into in the afternoon.

Watch: Looters run amok at Belhar Tops here

JUST IN: Another Spar Tops is being attacked in Belhar, Cape Town @TheCapeArgus @IOL pic.twitter.com/oq0AcDWCIh — Sisonke Mlamla (@SISONKE_MD) April 9, 2020

The latest incident brings the number of looted bottle stores to four on Thursday alone, as the perps continue to brave arrests in their defiance of the nationwide liquor ban.

Over the weekend, Police Minister Bheki Cele – who declared the prohibition of alcohol sales prior to the lockdown – expressed his desire for the ban to be extended beyond 16 April, the day where the government-sanctioned social distancing rules are set to be lifted.

“It is a known thing that alcohol is part of the crime generators … [When it comes to] most people who are murdered or sexually abused, it usually starts on Thursday until the end of the weekend [and] those people will be found at alcohol outlets,” he said. Bheki Cele

Cele also revealed that thousands of arrests and fines have been issued out during the lockdown period, with charges laid against close to 200 of these cases.