Ritchie, Northern Cape - A fight between two cousins over whether to spend their last R10 on a prostitute or more alcohol, ended in murder when one of them was stabbed with a bottleneck.
Raymond Asnak, 30, was stabbed once in the chest during an argument in Ritchie on Saturday afternoon.
Distraught family members told the DFA that Raymond Asnak was stabbed once in the chest, allegedly by his cousin, who can not be named until he has appeared in court, after the two argued over how to spend Asnak’s last R10. Asnak apparently preferred to spend it on a prostitute while his cousin wanted to buy more beers.
Later, when Asnak’s cousin was told that he had died as a result of the stab wound, he (the cousin) tried to commit suicide by hanging himself with a rope at his house in Rietvale.
A third cousin, Suzie Simons, said that the incident happened at a local shebeen not far from Asnak’s house.
“Raymond, (the suspect), myself and some of our friends were all sitting and drinking at a local shebeen. After some time we all agreed to go home (to Asnak’s house) to prepare some food as Raymond was no longer interested in buying more alcohol despite (the suspect) forcing him to do so,” Simons said.
“Raymond explained that he only had R10 left and he was going to use it to pay for a prostitute for the night,” Simons said.
She said that as they were walking home from the shebeen the accused slapped Asnak. He apparently retaliated, but it appeared as if they were teasing each other.
“Then (the suspect) ran into Raymond’s house, where he got a beer bottleneck and stabbed Raymond on the chest. After being stabbed, Raymond did not show any discomfort and there was no sign of blood on his chest. He instead laughed and asked (the suspect) what it is that he was trying to prove,” Simons told the DFA.
Asnak then gave her the R10 to go and buy beer.
“As I was walking towards the shebeen, Raymond called out my name and when I looked back he was sitting under a tree next to the road. He shouted that he was not feeling well. When I got to him I took off his jacket and saw blood all over his T-shirt,” Simons said.
She tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy. When she called out for help, residents in the area called the ambulance and the police.
According to Simons, when residents gathered at the scene, the suspect fled to his uncle’s house.
Asnak’s aunt, Dina Simons, said his cousin (the suspect) tried to commit suicide when he learnt of Asnak’s death.
“His uncle found him while he was trying to hang himself in the bathroom,” Dina said.
She pointed out that when she arrived at the scene, she found her nephew lying in a pool of blood next to the road.
“I could see that he was dead.”
Struggling to hold back the tears, Dina said that her family was traumatised by the tragedy. “It is a double blow because one child is dead and another is going to prison. How is a family expected to choose and blame in this tragedy is beyond me,” Dina said.
Northern Cape police spokeswoman Lieutenant Andrea Cloete said that the suspect will appear at the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
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