INTRUDERS tortured an 82-year-old Scottburgh woman with a hot steam iron to get her to open a safe while her 84-year-old husband was tied up and forced to watch.
The Scottburgh South couple was too traumatised to speak to the Mail this week and asked not to be named for fear of the men coming back.
The couple was asleep early last Wednesday morning when they were awoken by four men armed with knives. They had broken into the house through a window.
They bound the man and began beating the woman, demanding keys to the safe.
Police said she suffered ‘serious facial burns’ when one man held a hot steam iron to her face. Her teeth were also knocked out with an iron rod.
After the woman handed over the keys, the couple was locked in the bathroom. The intruders then ransacked the house and made their getaway in the couple’s white VW Jetta.
The couple was apparently planning an overseas trip and a substantial amount of foreign exchange was stolen from the safe. The robbers also took electronic equipment, liquor and jewellery.
Police have since found the Jetta abandoned in Pinetown and Port Shepstone Cluster Commander Thembi Ndlovu has vowed to pull out all stops to track down the robbers.
If anyone has any information, they are asked to contact Detective Warrant Officer Yugen Moodley at 039 9781900 or 039 9789917.
