Man 'couldn't help' shot partner
2007-09-26 09:46
Johannesburg - Every time he tried to help his partner, who was lying in a pool of blood, the robbers assaulted him.
Ouboet Venter, 53, from the Hartbeespoort Dam area, was in tears on Tuesday as he told how Stienie Botha, 61, was shot in the chest by one of four robbers in their house on a smallholding early on Monday morning.
The couple had moved into the house on Wednesday last week. It is inside a fenced area which is being developed as a security village.
Venter, a diesel mechanic, said he was powerless.
They were attacked at about 01:30. One of the robbers had a pistol, while the others were armed with a knife, screwdriver and spoon.
"I heard somebody shouting 'Hey!' and a shot went off," said Venter with tears streaming down his cheeks.
'I couldn't help her'
"I only noticed she (Botha) was shot when they switched on the lights. She didn't make a sound when she was shot. She didn't even move. They tied our hands and then removed her rings."
"Stienie kept saying: 'Ouboet, don't move. Just lie still'.
"I couldn't help her. When I looked at her or touched her, they kicked and hit me.
"I couldn't help her," he kept repeating.
According to Venter, a robber hit him on the head with a pistol twice. They then removed all his clothes and forced him to lie on the floor.
He and a friend, known as Mariska, who was also inside the house, were later locked in separate rooms. Before Venter managed to untie himself and break down the door, the robbers had stripped the house and fled in his car.
Venter sought help at a nearby smallholding.
Critical condition
Botha was conscious until she arrived at the hospital. She was in a critical condition in the high care unit of Montana Private Hospital on Tuesday.
"Stienie is such a good person who did not harm to anybody. She doesn't deserve this. She must be okay. She doesn't need this," said Venter.
Inspector Mary Modise, a spokesperson for Hartbeespoort Dam police, confirmed the incident.
She said the robbers had broken open the back door.
Nobody has been arrested yet. A case of house robbery was being investigated.