Five masked suspects allegedly pepper-sprayed a Pretoria caretaker, beat him with bricks and tied him up before fleeing with belongings worth R15 000.
Police have launched a manhunt for five suspects following a farm attack in Bultfontein in the Hammanskraal area, during which a 34-year-old caretaker was allegedly beaten with bricks and tied up.
This comes after a source revealed that the property is a farm, rather than a plot as earlier reported. The police report described the location as smallholdings in Wag ’n Bietjie Street.
According to police spokesperson Captain Johan van Dyk, the house robbery happened at approximately 00:05 on Thursday, October 15, shortly after midnight on Wednesday night.
The caretaker told police he had been asleep before waking up to go to the bathroom. When he returned, he heard a noise outside and went to investigate.
He allegedly found five men wearing balaclavas, one of whom was using a bolt cutter to cut open the security door.
The suspects entered the house, and the caretaker tried to defend himself with a steel pipe.
According to Van Dyk, the men overpowered him, sprayed him with pepper spray and struck him on the head with bricks, causing him to fall to the floor.
They allegedly tied his hands with rope and put a beanie on his head before fleeing with belongings valued at approximately R15 000.
The stolen items included a geyser, an electric stove, seven new wooden doors, groceries, two new gates, a small grinder, gate keys, a wheelbarrow and electrical wiring from the main switch.
The caretaker told police he heard a vehicle leaving the scene. He then went to neighbours for assistance.
An earlier report from the Lusthof Grondeienaars Vereeniging NPO and AfriForum’s Apiesrivier branch indicated that the suspects had spent approximately four hours on the property. That duration was not specified in the police report
Police have launched a manhunt for the five suspects.
Also read: Pretoria caretaker beaten with brick as masked robbers spend hours looting plot
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