Elderly couple survives attack

2009-11-02 15:19

Polokwane - Two men were arrested for allegedly attacking an elderly couple in Limpopo when they arrived at their farm after church, their daughter said on Monday.

Izak and Marrianne Jansen van Vuuren were confronted on Sunday morning as they tried to open the gate to their farm, in Marken, near Lephalale.

Anl Jansen van Vuuren said her mother and father drove their bakkie up to their gate.

"My mother struggled to open the gate, so my father climbed out of his bakkie to help her. While doing this they were hailed by two men who had their hands behind their backs. The men said they were looking for work. My father told them to leave. But the two men kept approaching and the next moment one of the men hit him in the face."

They were armed with a hammer, a baton and axe and beat him "mercilessly".

"My mother managed to get back to their vehicle as Mr Jansen van Vuuren screamed to her to drive away, which she did. Somehow the men managed to catch up with the vehicle and brought both my mother and the vehicle back to where my father was lying."

Crashed

"My father was tied onto the back of the bakkie, while the two suspects climbed into the cabin with my mother between them."

The attackers lost control of the vehicle, drove off the road, crashed through bushes and a fence and stalled the vehicle.

Izak had managed to free himself and jumped out and ran, throwing stones at the two, who abandoned Marrianne and the bakkie to chase him. He made it to a neighbour's farm and help was summoned.

"Before the police even reacted, neighbours with private planes were already searching the area from the air."

Izak was taken to Moropong Hospital in Lephalale and later transferred to HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria. The injuries to his face were so extensive he would need plastic surgery.

The two men were expected to appear in a local court soon.

- SAPA