A Phoenix pensioner was stabbed in the throat with a needle while seated in his car in the bustling Verulam CBD.
Yunus Ismail, 64, said he was parked outside his daughter’s business premises in George Sewpersadh Street waiting to pick her up when he was accosted by a man dressed in a purple shirt and jeans on Wednesday last week.
“It was hot and I had my window rolled down slightly. My head was turned toward the building where my daughter worked. Out the corner of my eye I saw a man approach my VW Golf and when I turned toward him he stabbed me with a thin, long, pointed object with a wooden handle. It looked liked a needle.”
With the needle lodged in his throat, Ismail tried to fight him off, but his assailant was too strong. “I switched on the car and rolled up the window, jamming his hand. He tried to reach for the keys to switch the car off and when he failed to do so, attempted to break the window with his other hand.”
When Ismail opened the window the attacker fled.
“I pulled out the needle and blood started shooting out of my throat. My vision became blurred. I couldn’t speak.”
A security guard who saw the attacker run off came to Ismail’s aid, contacting a private security company for assistance. Ismail said he was thankful he had not been seriously injured.
Since the attack his voice had returned but eating was difficult because of the pain, he said, adding that his doctors had reassured him he would be fine in a few weeks.
Reaction Unit South Africa boss Prem Balaram said when his security guards arrived on scene they found Ismail bleeding from the neck. The needle was in the back seat.
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said there had been no arrests.