By Vivian Warby

A rapist was left speechless when his intended victim bit off his tongue as he tried to force it into her mouth at the weekend.

The 30-year-old woman from Harry squatter camp in Wadeville on the East Rand then ran off, tongue in mouth, to the nearest police station a kilometre away. Police were shocked when she produced the bitten-off tongue.

Moments later, the suspect also arrived in agony, with blood pouring from his mouth, hoping to get medical help. He was immediately arrested.

Police said the tongue would be kept and used as evidence

He received medical attention but it was not possible to have his tongue sewn back on. Police said the tongue would be kept and used as evidence.

The woman was in a state of shock and had clearly been in a struggle with the suspect, said Superintendent Sam Maredi of the Actonville police station.

"She displayed all the emotional signs of a rape victim and was given counselling," he said. The woman had, however, managed to turn the tables on her attacker.

Maredi added that the woman, "a strong and powerful woman but much smaller than her attacker", had been attacked as she made her way across open veld to her home at about 6pm on Saturday.

"The culprit attacked her and then tried to put his tongue in her mouth. When he did this the fast-thinking woman bit it off," said Maredi. The suspect appeared briefly in the Benoni magistrate's court on Sunday.

Published on the Web by IOL on 2000-10-09 21:25:07