Kaapmuiden – The manager of Althorpe Farm, a mango and sugar-cane farm, was left bruised after being assaulted and burnt with an iron during an armed robbery on Monday evening.
Mr Neville Eekhout (72) returned home after visiting friends when three heavily armed men pointed guns at him, demanding money and threatening to kill him.
The attackers entered the property just before 20:00. He was tied up and assaulted while they ransacked his home for firearms and other items. The robbers fled in his stolen white Toyota Hilux 2.2.
The motive for their vicious assault on Eekhout was to get the safe’s key in order to gain access to the money in the house.
According to Cllr Mariette Preddy, DA representative of Nkomazi Municipality, Eekhout had been out with friends and walked straight into the ambush.
“When he returned to his home and entered the garage, the attackers suddenly surrounded him. They held a gun to his head and dragged him to his office where the assaulted continued.”
The suspects also tied him up with his own shoelaces before kicking and beating him. He was knocked out twice and burnt numerous times on his arms and back. Luckily, he regained consciousness when his Labrador started licking his face.
The assailants fled the scene roughly an hour later with six firearms, bank cards and an undisclosed amount of cash. They also stole Eekhout’s deceased wife’s jewellery as well as clothing, knives and bread before fleeing in his bakkie…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
