Pretoria - Four suspects are expected to appear in the Moretele Magistrate’s Court following the murder of a man accused of raping a 47-year-old woman in Hammanskraal.
The man was brutally assaulted by a mob in Soshanguve on Tuesday, six days after he allegedly kidnapped the woman and raped her before demanding money for her release.
Later on the same day, he accepted a ransom of R4 000 from the woman’s son and then freed the woman.
Her son said they had been in contact with the man on cellphone while negotiating the release of his mother.
This made the task of tracking the suspect down afterwards easier.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza said the four men aged 30, 32, 34 and 41, were arrested following the death of the suspect.
“We have instituted an investigation following claims that the family did not receive help from police when they went to the police to report a case of kidnapping.”
The son of the 47-year-old claimed police had failed to act when he and other family members went to report the matter at Temba police station on the day of the kidnapping. This compelled them to negotiate ransom with the abductor.
The mother had earlier told the Pretoria News of the harrowing experience she suffered during her ordeal.
She said the man kidnapped her outside her son’s business premises after he offered her a lift, telling her he was travelling in the same direction as she was.
“However, he took a different route and tied me up to a tree before he raped me. He then left me there and drove away. But he left markings - plastic bottles on branches - so he would know where to find me when he returned.”
She claimed the man demanded ransom.
She also said he ripped off her dental jewellery using a pair of pliers.
Pretoria News