What should have been a fun night with friends in Munsieville on 4 September quickly turned into a violent assault on a young woman.

The woman told the News she was exhausted, hurt and broken after an attack by the fiancé of one of her friends.

She added that she was telling her story not to get attention, but because this was the first time something like this has happened to her and she did not want it to happen to anyone else.

*Penny explained that she and one of her friends attended a pre-wedding lunch for one of their friends at about 3pm. The group of woman spent the day together and was later joined by Penny’s sister-in-law shortly before 10pm. The groom-to-be then invited everyone to their house to continue with the festivities because some of the older people wanted to go to bed.

We then went to their place and had few drinks, chatting and laughing. Suddenly my sister-in-law and the groom-to-be went outside for a few minutes and when they came back they brought alcohol,” Penny said.

She added that they did not ask too many questions and they continued partying. She remembered the groom-to-be taking her sister-in-law and her friend’s phones.

“Then I stopped drinking because I felt that I had too much. I remember I had four bottles of Flying Fish beer,” she explained.

After another hour at the party, she asked her sister-in-law to phone her brother to come and fetch them. The next thing she saw was the groom-to-be pulling her sister-in-law into a bedroom by her hair.

“I don’t know what happened but I remember my phone dialling my brother’s number by itself,” Penny said, and added that she thought she was out of airtime. The bride-to-be then came back from the bathroom and told her fiancé, “Efa batho di phone tsa bone” (give the people back their phones).

He couldn’t care less and started beating up my sister-in-law. When I asked him to stop, he attacked me as well.”

Penny fell to the floor but luckily her brother walked in and tried to stop the attacker. Penny could not get up and started praying. When she heard her brother shouting, “Stand up and run to the car”, she got up and ran.

Unfortunately, when her brother let go of the attacker, he came after them with a knife.

“My friend and I ran to the car but I fell on the grass. He caught up with me and started beating me with his fists, stepping on my head and then he held a knife to my chest. I pleaded with him not to kill me.”

She said her attacker then told her “Wena kajeko ka go bolaya o waka” meaning, ‘tonight you are mine, I am going to kill you’. Penny lost consciousness for a few seconds but came to when her brother shouted, “Penny, run to the car”.

She eventually managed to crawl to the car and they went home. Penny’s sister and older brother went to the groom-to-be and his soon-to-be wife’s house to find out what exactly happened. He told them that he would apologise only to Penny, and asked her not to go to the police and promised to take her to the doctor.

When we left their place I went straight to the hospital and got the J88 form from the police station. I had X-rays done and opened a case,” she said. Penny was left with a bruised and swollen eye, and injuries to both her arms and elbows as well as her chest.

Captain Raymond Sebonyane, the Krugersdorp Police spokesperson confirmed to the News that a man was arrested for assault and then released. He appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrates’ Court on 8 September where his case was remanded for investigation. He will be appearing in court again on 15 October.

*Not her real name to protect her identity.