Man (64) claims Witbank Police would not let him open a case due to the severity of his injuries

“I thought they were going to kill me,” said a local businessman (64) who was left severely injured after he was allegedly robbed, carjacked, and assaulted by three unknown suspects.

In an exclusive interview with WITBANK NEWS, the businessman said that he remembered the ordeal like it happened yesterday. He said that on the day that his truck was allegedly stolen, and he was allegedly robbed and brutally assaulted by unknown suspects, he was on-site working as it was business as usual.

 

“On Saturday, March 2, I left home with my truck that I use for work as a rubble remover. I received a contract to operate at Bankenveld and I did and headed to offload. I was with two of my employees when we went to offload at nearby Acacia’s Place in Tasbet Park,’’ the businessman outlined.

 

He said when they were done offloading and the employees were busy cleaning the truck, three suspects ambushed and threatened them with a firearm.

 

“One of them approached, pointed, and cocked his gun at me and told me that if I dare to move, I am a dead man,” the man cried.

 

It is alleged that the one suspect began brutally attacking the man until he fell on the ground, and thereafter robbed him of an undisclosed amount of money and his cellphone.

 

The man and two of his employee’s hands were allegedly tied to their backs, and they were moved to the cemetery. The businessman said that he reckoned that they were kept there for 45 minutes.

 

“The one suspect was communicating with someone on the phone; I presume the signal was bad, hence he left us with the other two guards, who were busy with my truck. At around noon, we saw an opportunity to escape and we took it. The one employee bit the ropes with his teeth whilst we also tried to free our feet,” the businessman bravely described the moment.

 

He said that they immediately started running for their lives until they reached the first house they came across, where they barged into a woman’s house begging for help and asking if she could call the police.

 

The businessman described the woman as a Good Samaritan who phoned the police and assisted him as he was bleeding severely.

 

As if that was the end of the nightmare, he said that the police allegedly took almost an hour to arrive whilst he was shaking relentlessly, and waited for the armed suspects to find him, and finish him off whilst he waited for the police.

 

“I got tired of waiting and took action. I advised my employees to stay put and wait for the police, and went into the street and stopped one of the delivery motorcycle drivers. I told him what happened, and he could see that I was injured. He drove me home, and I gave him R100 I got from my wife at home,” said the man.

 

Upon arrival at the police station, he said he was shocked to learn that he would be unable to open a case due to his injuries.

 

“I was denied to open the case, they told me that I was badly injured, and the law does not allow me to open a case. They advised me to seek medical attention first and come back. My son advised that we go to the hospital. When we arrived at Witbank Provincial Hospital, we were only assisted the next day on Sunday, March 3 at around 04:30, and I was only given 10 tablets of painkillers to drink and head home,” cried the businessman.

 

After he left the hospital, he said he went straight back to Witbank Police Station, whereupon shift change, and he was able to escalate the matter to the station’s brigadier to inform him that no law prevents victims from opening a case.

 

The businessman said the brigadier arranged two police vans, and they all headed to the crime scene, however, there were no traces of his truck.
He says that although the brigadier assisted him, the detective surely did otherwise, as he has not assisted him.

 

“I went to the detective and informed him that the suspects began contacting my daughter and asking for ransoms. They also called me and told me that if I do not send them R15 000, they will come to my house and finish what they have started. The detective said to me that he would need a court order to tap my phone and trace my calls, and that was the last I heard from him,” the man cried.

 

He did not shy away from the fact that due to the little police assistance, he now lives in fear for his life and his family’s, “I am heartbroken that I was beaten, robbed, and carjacked, and the police have done nothing to help. I sleep only in the afternoons because at night I have nightmares,” the man said.

 

His 38-year-old son shared that the ordeal has left a bad taste in the family’s finances and livelihood, “They threatened my sister and told her that they will come after her and they described the exact car she is driving. I hope that we will be able to receive counselling because I want my father to heal and be well again,” the son ended.

 

“We can confirm that a criminal case has been opened and is currently being investigated by Witbank Detective Services,” said police spokesperson Captain Eddie Hall.

 

If you think that the SAPS did not deliver the necessary service you required, you can report it to our Service Complaints Centre by calling the toll-free number: 0800 333177.

 

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