A walk home after work turned into a life-threatening experience for a local woman.
Norma* was on her way back from work on Thursday, 2 May, on a route she had taken many times before. As she was crossing an open field, a man approached her and after a short conversation, he attacked her.
“I was walking home from work and saw him standing on the other side of the road, holding a bottle of beer. I thought it was just a guy doing his thing, so I continued past him,” she explained.
The man approached her and asked her how she was doing.
“As I was walking, he greeted me. He actually spoke to me in Zulu and asked me how I was doing and all that. I said I was okay and the next thing, he tried to grab my phone.”
There is a cellphone ring holder on the back of her phone, and her fingers were hooked through it.
“So he couldn’t take it. I started pulling away and then he got closer and tried to grab it again,” she said.
When he could not get her phone out of her hand, he went for the backpack she had over her shoulders, but he failed again.
“He couldn’t get it off because it was hanging around my shoulders. He wrestled me to the ground and started pulling on my bag and my phone.”
She said she was trying to get the bag off to give it to him, but he seemed to think she was fighting back.
Then he grabbed her by the legs and started dragging her down the tarred road.
“At that point, I started screaming really loudly and two guys came running down the street. They were shouting something at him – I think they were telling him to stop.”
The man became scared and ran away, but Norma was left with injuries to her hands, her back and neck.
“I have injuries all over my hands. I think that’s because my hands were on the tarred road while he was dragging me.”
Her rescuers came over and asked if she was okay.
“I thanked them for intervening and continued my walk home. When I got there, I realised my hands were bleeding, so I went to the hospital.”
Norma told the News that she was scared to open a case because the man did not take anything. On Thursday, 9 May, she sent the News’ journalist, Natasha Pretorius, a message saying that she had gone to the police to open a case after all.
She explained that the police had asked her if the man had taken anything, and when she said no, she felt as if they thought she was a fool for opening a case. The officer gave her a J88 form to take to the hospital and have it filled in.
This is not the first time the News has reported on a attack on a woman near Human Street. In January, the News reported on another woman who was attacked near Human Street and the derelict house that has been a breeding place for criminals and criminal activity. Since then nothing has changed – the house still poses a great risk, not only for the residents living around it, but apparently also for those who pass by.
Read the original story here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/372575/living-near-the-house-of-horrors-on-human-street-victim-choked/
Norma wants to warn other women to be vigilant and protect themselves.
The Krugersdorp Police have been approached for comment on the case and asked what can be done to prevent another attack like this from happening. No response has yet been received.
*Norma is a pseudonym because the victim fears for her safety.
