Rustenburg - A 49-year-old woman was hijacked, robbed of an undisclosed amount of money and shot dead in Rustenburg, North West police said on Tuesday.
"The 49-year-old Indian lady, Mrs Zaheeda Latif, also known as Poppy, was on her way to deposit the money of their business situated in Klopper Street, Rustenburg at the premises of SBV for safe transportation to the bank," said Rustenburg police spokesperson Captain Elsabe Augoustides.
She said Latif was with a co-worker on Monday when they stopped at the intersection of Von Belkum and Church Streets, in Rustenburg's East End, about two blocks from the premises of SBV.
"There was a [minibus] taxi in front of them and they had to stop. Suddenly four to six African males, armed with handguns started shooting at them. The co-worker fled the scene. She [Zaheeda Latif] was hijacked in her white Chevrolet Utility bakkie".
Augoustides said police members were alerted to the kidnapping and given details of the vehicle.
"Fortunately, a SAPS chopper was deployed in Rustenburg at the time and immediately started to search for the missing woman. Within about 25 minutes, the chopper spotted the Chevrolet on a dirt road, amongst the trees and bushes. The dirt road is in the vicinity of the Sibanye Training Centre, just outside of Rustenburg, about 5 km from the actual scene where the hijacking took place."
On arrival at the scene the police discovered she had been shot.
"She sustained a chest wound and passed away. The suspects fled the scene on foot with all the money. They are still at large."