Sterkspruit area now targeted by criminals

STERKSPRUIT – A man was severely assaulted and knifed by a gang of men who gained entry to his house during a robbery on Saturday morning.

Mr Willem Ferreira (29) was allegedly overpowered by the robbers at approximately 02:00 in the morning. They had apparently managed to gain entry through a window. All three suspects were armed with knives and acted in an aggressive manner.

During the attack Ferreira was repeatedly hit over the head with a type of spanner and one of the men also attacked him with a knife.

The injured victim was tied up and the suspects proceeded to ransack his house.

Approximately an hour later Ferreira had managed to untie himself and phoned a neighbour for assistance.

“We received a call from a neighbour asking for help and stating that a man had been attacked on the property they stay,” said Mr Jacques Meiring of Community Justice. Meiring called for back-up and vehicles were deployed to the scene.

Ferreira’s neighbour in the meantime ran towards the targeted house and shot a warning shot. It is believed that this is the reason that the suspects left some of their loot behind outside the house. They did however still get away with much of Ferreira’s property.

Capt Dawie Pretorius, Nelspruit police spokesperson, confirmed the attack and said that the police are investigating a case of houserobbery with aggrevated circumstances.