Durban - A 78-YEAR-OLD Westville woman had her ring, which had sentimental value, pulled off her finger during a house robbery.
The woman had been watering plants in her garden on Tuesday when a Toyota Corolla with four men suddenly drove into her driveway, said provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala.
Her son, who did not want to be named, said the men broke open the driveway gate.
“My mother ran into the house. While attempting to lock the gate behind her, they kicked in the door and pushed her to the ground. They held her face-down,” he said.
He said one stood over her with a gun, repeatedly saying “lie down, Gogo (grandmother)” throughout the 10-minute ordeal. The three others ransacked the house, emptying out the contents of drawers and cupboards.
When her 80-year-old husband arrived from shopping, two men rushed towards the car pointing their guns in his direction. He reversed out and parked at a neighbour’s house. The men fled the scene in their car.
Video source: Mob-Claw911
“My father walked back to the house not knowing if my mother was alive and what
condition he would find her in. She was bleeding from a wound to the head. She later received five stitches to close the wound.
The robbers forced a ring off her finger and took her watch.
Her skin was bruised on her hand and she had carpet burns on her knees,” he said.
The ring belonged to her late grandmother and she wore it for decades. Mobi-Claw 911 spokesperson Mike Myers said ER24 paramedics treated the woman for shock and a wound to her forehead. A case of robbery was opened at Westville police station.
Meanwhile, police arrested two men in a silver Toyota Tazz stolen during a house robbery in Mariannhill on Wedneday. Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said suspects kicked open the door and proceeded to the homeowner’s bedroom. A shoot-out had ensued between the suspects and police at V-Section in uMlazi.
“The suspects’ vehicle crashed into a
container at the corner of Inwabi Road and Mangosuthu Highway. One of the suspects was taken to hospital for medical attention, under police guard. The stolen property was recovered during the arrest,” said Naicker.
In Pinetown, on Tuesday night, a family were seated in the lounge when six suspects kicked open the front door. Police said at gunpoint, suspects ransacked the house and removed two TVs, jewellery, cash and cellphone before fleeing the scene in the complainant’s Toyota Etios.