Robbers injure couple

2003-10-08 10:45

Pretoria - A retired couple were seriously injured by robbers in their home on a smallholding in the Kameeldrift area, north of Pretoria, police reported on Wednesday.

The pensioners were surprised by three men who apparently entered the house through an unlocked front door about 20:00 on Tuesday night, said Captain Piletji Sebola.

The intruders were armed with plumbing tools, and two of them used a spanner to assault the man in the lounge. He was taken to the main bedroom where the beating continued, said Sebola.

He was hit repeatedly over the head and on the chest.

His wife was confronted in the kitchen by the third intruder, who used a knife he found there to stab her several times in the back and chest.

Sebola said the man was forced to hand over keys to their safe, from which the robbers took a rifle, a pistol, a shotgun and a pellet gun, R5 000 in cash and jewellery.

They also took the couple's car keys, but were prevented from driving off when another car arrived on the smallholding.

The robbers ran off, dropping three of the firearms in the yard, and leaving the keys in the car ignition. They took the rifle, the money and the jewellery.

Sebola said the woman was airlifted to Kloof Hospital in a serious condition and her badly injured husband also was admitted.

The couple are believed to be in their 60s.

- SAPA