Elderly couple attacked on Brits plot

Published Jan 21, 2015

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Johannesburg - An elderly couple was badly injured in an attack on their plot in De Wildt near Brits, North West police said on Wednesday.

Three armed men wearing blue overall pants attacked Hannes and Annetjie van der Merwe, both in their 70s, around midday on Tuesday, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

“Three men covered in balaclavas came onto the farm, disarmed him, tied him and his wife up, started assaulting them and burnt them with a steam iron on most of their body parts.”

The men took firearms from their safe and ransacked the house before fleeing on foot. No arrests had been made. Police had opened a case of robbery, assault, and attempted murder.

“Police are very hard at work to find them,” Ngubane said.

He appealed to residents to contact the police if they had any information about the crime.

Afriforum's head of community safety Ian Cameron said the couple were recovering in a Brits hospital.

“I heard this morning that they are stable.”

He said Hannes had managed to alert a neighbour about the attack, who then called for help.

Sapa

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