Pretoria man attempts to set girlfriend alight
A 31-year-old man has been arrested after he poured paraffin on his girlfriend and attempted to set her on fire in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Michael Mbewe said the victim claimed her boyfriend assaulted her after she asked for money to buy food. The boyfriend then went to a shop and returned with a loaf of bread and a container filled with paraffin, Rekord East reported.
Mbewe added while the victim was busy preparing tea for the accused, he allegedly soaked paraffin all over her body and tried to burn her. However, an unknown male who heard the noise came to the rescue by forcefully taking the matches from her boyfriend.
The man then allegedly went inside a room, armed himself with a steel water boiler and started to hit her several times on the upper body until she fell down covered in blood. He then fled the scene but was later arrested, said Mbewe.
Mamelodi police arrested the man on Thursday for assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. The man will appear in the Mamelodi Magistrates’ Court soon.
Last month a man allegedly burned his girlfriend to death in Roodepoort, on the West Rand, Gauteng.
The deceased’s mother, Nonfuneko Charlie, said her daughter, Juliette Charlie, 18, was visiting a group of friends in Roodepoort when she apparently disappeared with her ex-boyfriend. She was missing for three days before three of her friends told her parents she was in hospital after she was set alight.
“Her boyfriend allegedly poured paraffin over her before setting her alight in a jealous rage. She died in hospital seven days later.”
“Nobody knows exactly what happened on the day of Juliette’s tragic death and whether an argument ensued before her boyfriend allegedly set her alight,” added Nonfuneko.
– Caxton News Service
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