An elderly couple from Valhalla in Centurion was attacked with a panga and a screwdriver on Thursday morning, February 19, 2015, in their bedroom.
Philip and Oranje van Rooyen (both 60) were attacked while sleeping at about 2:15 in their home in Gulfoss road.
Jan Visagie, a friend of the couple, said Friday that the two intruders had gained access to the house by breaking open the burglar bars in another room.
The robbers awoke Philip and warned him to keep quiet.
“Oranje woke up and saw a man with a panga in his hand and screamed” he said.
“The robbers bound the couple’s hands and feet with a cellphone cord and threw blankets over their heads.”
Philip who suffers from diabetes and struggling with his vision was hit in the face by one of the robbers with his fist. The blow knocked one of his teeth out.
The robbers stole a TV, phone, jewelry and money and fled.
“Philip wiggled Oranje’s feet loose and she fetched a knife in the kitchen to cut loose their hands,” said Visagie.
The couple called the Wierdabrug police, who believed to have arrived at the scene in just a few minutes.
Visagie said Oranje was traumatized after the attack and the result of the severe shock caused a heart attack.
Oranje was still in Unitas Hospital in Centurion on Friday afternoon and she is expected to be released on Saturday. Philip is already back home.
Wierdabrug police spokesperson Captain Agnes Huma could not confirm whether anyone has been arrested.
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