Crime

Father and daughter saved by panic button

The damage caused and the property lost came to about R70 000.

Zelné Bezuidenhout (38) strongly believes her father and her would have been murdered in their home if it wasn’t for two things: a panic button and the quick reaction of armed response.

She has praised and thanked James Bruce from Lazer 911 for his quick reaction, and staying with her and her father, Fanie (70) until the police arrived, after they were brutally attacked in their Hibberdene home recently.

Splatters of blood were seen everywhere throughout the home.

Another scary aspect of this attack is that Zelné believes her five dogs were drugged by some chemical which she found in her yard after the incident. This is how, she believes, the intruders gained entry into the house, through the ‘doggie door’.

Fanie was watching TV in the lounge last Monday, when he was met by three men in the lounge at about 22.30.
Meanwhile, Zelné was in her bedroom when she heard a commotion from the lounge, and investigated.

As she came out of her bedroom, she saw three men brutally attacking her father with their fists, and what appeared to be large screwdrivers.

Fanie Bezuidenhout was injured and badly shaken by a home invasion.

Two of the men then dragged her back into her bedroom, one threw her onto the bed. He then jumped on top of her and while attacking her attempted to strangle her.

During the struggle on the bed, Zelné’s 54kg pitbull, Amy emerged.
Zelné said she could see Amy was drowsy and off-balance but still tried her best to defend her.

“As I saw my attacker lunging towards Amy with a screwdriver, I kicked Amy hard off the bed, in an attempt to save her life. During the scuffle, I managed to press the panic button,” she said.

The third man, Zelné described as the ‘grabber’ while they were being attacked, he grabbed valuable items from the house. She feels he was passing the stolen items through the ‘doggie door’ to other waiting members of the gang.

“The damage caused and the property lost came to about R70 000. But, I am grateful my father and animals are okay,” she said.

Zelné Bezuidenhout with her precious Amy.

“We are kind and soft hearted people, so the aggression, violent manner and hatred these men forced onto us, is difficult to comprehend. From the crazed look in their eyes, I do believe they could have been on drugs,” she said.

“When they couldn’t get the TV through the ‘doggie door’ they threw it on the floor and smashed it.”

“This is not an ‘inside job’ as we don’t have staff. Smaller theft incidents; like breaking into cars or stealing solar lights or her chickens began in December last year, and it has now escalated to this,” she said.

Zelné thanked the security companies and the Hibberdene Community Police Forum who do a lot for the community.

“I want to give credit to these guys who put their lives on the line and would recommend that people get armed response, especially a panic button.”

To date, no arrests have been made.

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