A man from Raisethorpe in Pietermaritzburg is currently recovering in hospital after being attacked and tortured with a hot iron in a house robbery on Saturday night, in which robbers made off with over R22 000.

Rishad Sheik, who was viciously beaten by brazen thieves, described the ordeal as a “nightmare”.

The robbers also took his girlfriend and her children at gunpoint to the ATM and forced her to withdraw the rest of his money.

“When I got home at 20:00, two unknown men met me at the gate and hit me. They forced me into my house, where they demanded money. I gave them R5000, and then they demanded my bank cards and pin. When I hesitated, they started torturing me with a taser. They then hit me the butt of a gun. When I still did not give them my card, they burnt me with my iron all over my body.”

“They kept assaulting me and using the taser on me. They stabbed me in the leg as well. In the end, they tied my hands and feet and covered me with a gown and they went away with my bank card and took all the money I had,” he said.

During the torturing, the robbers took his phone and attempted to access his banking app.

When the banking app locked, and they could not access his account, they then allegedly took his girlfriend and her children hostage to the ATM and forced her at gunpoint to withdraw more money.

“They took a total of R22 000. They took R5 000 cash and R17 000 from my bank account,” he said.

The girlfriend

The girlfriend, Nelisiwe Mlaba, said the men first arrived on the property at 18:45 asking for Sheik.

“I was in the house with my two children when these two men came inside. I thought it was my cousins because they opened the gate. It was still early, so we had not locked the gate yet. The two men then appeared and asked me where Rishad was. I did not know them, but I told them that he had gone to see a movie at the mall. They then pulled out a gun and told us to stay inside.”

She said this was just the beginning of their traumatic ordeal.

“At 19:45, Rishad came home and they hit him with a mop. There were two of them and the other one was pointing the gun at me. They wanted the pin for his cards. They started with the apps on his phone. There was a problem with the app because it was locked. They tried to put different pins to try and unlock it. They took the money and the cards.

“Then they forced me and my children to accompany them to Absa bank. They said if they didn’t get the money, they were going to kidnap us and if they found the money they would let us go,” said Mlaba.

She added that she was terrified for her kids’ safety.

“They were carrying a gun and something to choke me. Even if I were to scream and try and get help, they were going to choke me. I was afraid they would hurt my children; that’s why I did not scream and kept quiet,” she said.

Mlaba added that she does not feel safe.

“I am preparing to go back to my village. I am taking my children with me. I hope the police can do their job and find these men and recover the money. I will keep following the case and hope that they are found.”

She added that she was not hurt. “They did not hurt me or the kids in any way but they hurt Rishad. They hit him and they burnt him with the iron,” she said.

Sheik added that he is waiting for the police to get into contact with him.

“The police have done everything; they have taken fingerprints. I am just waiting for the lead detective to get into contact with me,” he said.

He is receiving treatment in hospital and undergoing more tests.

SAPS

SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Sfiso Gwala said a case of house robbery and kidnapping has been opened.

“There are no arrests at this stage. A case of house robbery and kidnapping has been opened for investigation at Mountain Rise SAPS. The incident took place at 10 Maney Road on July 15,” he said.