Man and dog bite farmer
2008-08-11 09:22
Virginia Keppler
Pretoria - Johannes Petrus Strydom, who is being accused by several people of ordering his dog to bite them, has apparently also bitten a person himself.
Hennie Steyn, 50, a game farmer from Thabazimbi in Limpopo, claims Strydom bit him on the hand on June 20 2008, and his dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, bit him on the face and the back of his leg.
Strydom apparently also attacked Steyn's wife Sue, 49, and the dog also got hold of her leg and bit her.
"I nearly bled to death," Steyn told Beeld on Sunday.
"Strydom assaulted us without any provocation after he caught some of my game. He got his dog to maul me and then sped off with the last of the buck that he caught without paying. He assaulted me while the dog bit me.
"When I pushed him (Strydom) away, he bit me on the hand and then his dog bit me."
'Yes, I did nearly beat him to death'
Strydom said he had hit Steyn because he was a racist. "Yes, I did nearly beat him to death," he said on Sunday.
Steyn said during the attack, Strydom's exact words to his dog were: "Sa, vat hom. (Sa, take him)"
He said Strydom wanted to hit his wife on the face, but she tried to block him with her hands.
"He then hit her repeatedly on her hands. She had a terrible bruise on her hand and the dog bit her once on her back leg."
Steyn said after Strydom had assaulted him and his wife, a friend who had caught game with Strydom, took him to task for hitting a woman. "But then he assaulted his friend too." According to Strydom, the man was an employee.
Legal action
Steyn laid charges of theft and assault with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm at Thabazimbi police station.
"I am still awaiting feedback from the police."
Steyn has also sued Strydom for R100 000 for pain and suffering and R118 000 for the antelope he had sped away with.
Steyn's child was not bitten by the dog as was reported in Beeld on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Strydom allegedly set his dog on three petrol attendants at a Pretoria fuel station. The dog bit one man and a second was injured when he tried to run from the dog.
- Beeld