Newcastle resident brutally beaten in Bloemfontein

A violent attack has left the life of 25-year-old Newcastle resident, Attie van Zyl, in the balance.

Attie is currently in the intensive care unit at Mediclinic Bloemfontein, and has undergone an operation to reconstruct his nose.

He sustained a broken nose, a fractured jaw and severe head trauma, as well as many cuts and bruises.

According to an article which appeared on the Volksblad’s website, he was attacked by three men in the early hours of Saturday morning and hit
multiple times with a steel pipe outside Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Langenhoven Park.

According to the report, surveillance footage captured by security cameras at the KFC indicated the incident happened at 4.02am, and
showed the employees on duty holding their heads in complete and utter shock, as they watched Attie being viciously assaulted on the sidewalk outside.

The footage also showed a small altercation that occurred inside the restaurant, where a man could be seen pushing Attie.

It is believed Attie had been dropped off at the Langenhoven Park Shopping Centre after attending a bachelors party, and was on his way to meet his brother, Peter.

The family told Volksblad that Attie was concussed, experienced memory loss and that he was speaking incoherently.

Apart from the broken nose and fractured jaw, Attie’s left ankle was also broken, his right shoulder dislocated, and he had multiple fractures to the skull.

Police investigations are under way, and it is hoped the suspects might be identified via the surveillance footage.

His parents, Dr Nico and Ilse van Zyl of Newcastle, hurried to Bloemfontein to be with their son. Nicola, his sister, told Volksblad that Attie had asked if someone had ‘hit him with a steel pipe’.“My brother is very loving.

He is not an aggressive type of person. Now his nose is broken,” she said.