Ex-lover taunts victim after acid attack

Published Nov 24, 2014

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Johannesburg - A horror attack by an ex-boyfriend who poured battery acid over her has left a young woman not only badly burnt but fearing for her life as he continues his threats.

Ines Antonio, 22, says the man is still threatening her via SMS, yet the police have done nothing to arrest him.

The incident happened in Sydenham, northern Joburg, on November 3.

Her employer, Jennifer*, claims the Norwood police have done nothing, despite the fact that they have an address and cellphone number for the perpetrator, who continues sending SMSes telling her he is going “to finish off the job”.

Antonio had a baby with the man three years ago. He threw her out when she fell pregnant.

“Ines is a lovely, gentle young woman who would not hurt a fly. After she gave birth, she returned to school and was waiting to write one of her final matric exams on November 4, on the morning of the incident, when the ex-boyfriend arrived and said he had gifts for the child.

“He lured her to his car on that pretext, opened the boot and threw acid over her.

“She managed to protect the child throughout the attack, and thankfully only her child’s hands were burnt,” Jennifer said.

Antonio was admitted to the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital where she was in intensive care for a week. She is now in the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital burns unit. She has third degree burns over 70 percent of her body.

“Her face is very bad - she’ll be scarred for life. It is tragic because she has no family.”

Jennifer said the police kept saying they could not take a statement because Antonio could not speak.

“I was visiting her the whole week and she would have been able to make a statement,” said Jennifer.

It was only last week, at her insistence, that the police arrived to take a statement.

“It is unacceptable that the police have done nothing despite the fact that she was almost killed and that he continues threatening her,” she said.

Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said on Monday that the case was under investigation. “The suspect has disappeared from his last known address. The police are following leads that he might be in the Pretoria area.”

* Not her real name.

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The Star

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