Police say a crowbar gang was behind an attack on an elderly resident of the Keurbooms Heights area in Plettenberg Bay, who was struck over the head with a crowbar at his home before being robbed.
Tuesday’s attack on the 87-year-old man came a week after 63-year-old Penelope Cummings’s naked and bruised body was found in the upmarket Schoongezicht Country Estate.
The man was overpowered by assailants while opening the back door for his pet cat.
Plettenberg police spokesperson Marlene Pieterse said: “On Tuesday morning four assailants overpowered, entered the home and struck the man over the head with a crowbar.
"They took electronics, clothing and money from
the apartment and also
a Mercedes-Benz, which officers and other role-players recovered. They arrested four suspects.”
She said the suspects would appear in the Plettenberg Magistrate's Court on charges of robbery and assault.
Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association (PBCPA) operations executive Otto Olivier said: “The victim was struck over the head before they robbed his home and also his vehicle, which was traced to the Kwanokuthula area.
“The suspects were spotted and in the chase they stopped, jumped out of the vehicle and fled in between the houses, but were later arrested.”
Olivier said the PBCPA was a joint initiative that included police, law enforcement,
security agencies and other role-players.
Cummings, who was discovered by a friend, had multiple bruises, including on his neck, which might have been from strangulation.
Olivier said Cummings’s vehicle was recovered the next day. It was allegedly set alight by the suspect, who was arrested the same day.
The Keurboom resident was taken to hospital and was recovering, Olivier said. The resident's wife was not present during the attack.