Beaten by employee
Reprimanding an employee had disastrous consequences for the sales manager of a company in the city on Friday morning.
POLOKWANE – Reprimanding an employee had disastrous consequences for the sales manager of a company in the city on Friday morning.
Gerrit Venter, sales manager of Duroc Foods in Polokwane, was brutally attacked and severely beaten with a piece of angle iron, allegedly by the very employee who he had just reprimanded for using the company’s washing machine to wash his personal clothes.
According to André van der Nest, a sales representative with the company, who was one of a handful of eye-witnesses to the attack, Venter was attacked shortly after leaving the building. He had just finished reprimanding the employee.
Venter’s attacker was detained by other employees and handed over to the police when they arrived, Van der Nest said.
The beating left Venter with a broken nose and cheekbone, as well as a fractured skull.
He was rushed to Mediclinic Limpopo where his condition was stabilised before being airlifted to a hospital in Pretoria for further treatment.
Speaking on behalf of the Venter family, his daughter Mariska Vogel said so far doctors were very happy with his progress. She said her father was in a medically-induced coma and once the swelling on his brain had lessened sufficiently, he would be operated on.
“My father is responding very well to his treatment even though he looks much worse than the doctors say he is.
“We are grateful for all the prayers and good wishes we have received from all over.
“We are looking forward to having him back with us within a few weeks,” Vogel said.
Venter’s youngest child is a learner at Pietersburg Hoërskool (PHS).
School spokesperson Anna-Marie Schoeman said Venter is a dedicated and very involved father when it came to his child’s schooling, and sporting activities.
“Everyone at PHS is praying for his speedy recovery and will keep the Venter family in their prayers,” she said.
Westenburg police spokesperson, Capt Mohlaka Mashiane confirmed the incident, saying that a case of attempted murder was being investigated and the suspect had been arrested. The suspect was due to appear in court later this week.
