Blood oozing from under door

2003-08-18 19:22

Johannesburg - The owner of the Steers franchise at Johannesburg's Eastgate shopping mall died after being shot and stabbed on Monday, allegedly by three employees who then took cash from the safe, police said.

Sergeant Prudence Mvelase said the three employees, aged 25, 26 and 37, allegedly armed themselves with a knife and a handgun and entered owner Feroz Bhabha's office at about 13:00. He was alone.

The manager - a woman - went to the office shortly afterwards and saw blood coming from under the door. She opened the door and was dragged inside the office by one of the three men.

Mvelase said the woman was forced to open the safe and the men helped themselves to a substantial amount of cash and then stabbed her in the head before running away.

She was taken to hospital, and was in a serious but stable condition.

Mvelase said Bhabha had been shot twice and stabbed once and died at the scene.

Mvelase said the identity of the three alleged robbers was known. One of them had been employed at the fast food outlet for five years and the other two had been employed there for the past five months.

- SAPA