A teacher and her 10-year-old son survived a two-hour ordeal in their home at the hands of an axe-wielding attacker.
The Hamburg woman, whose identity is being protected, was raped.
The Daily Dispatch yesterday spoke to relatives, who said police had failed them.
Officers allegedly failed to respond to the crime scene in the early hours of Monday morning, claiming they did not have a functioning vehicle.
The station is just 500 metres from the house. A relative of the victims said the attacker gained entry through a garage window just before midnight on Sunday. The mother and child, who live alone in a three-bedroom home in the small coastal hamlet, were fast asleep at the time.
The woman woke up when she felt someone grabbing hold of her arm. “She was shocked by this and wrestled with the assailant, but he overpowered her and hacked her in the head . She became unconscious and fell,” said the relative.
The little boy was woken by the commotion and went to his mother’s room. He tried to switch on the lights, but the mains had been switched off. “That’s when he attacked the boy with an axe.”
When the woman regained consciousness, her son was in the room, bleeding from a gash in the head. The man was demanding money, cellphones and a gun.
“When he could not get the gun, he asked the victim what she was offering him. She gave him a bank card and that was not enough.
“He dragged her to another room,” the relative said. The woman was raped in the other room. She begged her attacker not to kill them.
“She even promised that she’s not going to tell anyone what had happened, she was scared.”
The suspect left the house after 2am – with R2000 in cash and two cellphones. The mother and son ran to a neighbour’s house where the police station was called.
“Police kept saying they were coming. They later said their vehicle was not starting and they would walk. We offered them a car but they refused,” said the relative. She said an ambulance, which travelled 100km to the scene, arrived before the police.
The woman and her son were rushed to an East London hospital.
The little boy had surgery yesterday to his head injuries. Relatives said he was recovering in ICU, where he was expected to remain until Friday. They said the woman was recovering in a general ward.
Peddie police spokesman Constable Thomas Mayoli said they were investigating the case.
“There are three counts: rape, attempted murder and house breaking. Also the acting cluster commander has assigned a senior detective to investigate the allegations that the police failed to respond,” he said.
Hamburg community policing forum (CPF) chairman Ludidi Ngcwembe said the incident had shocked the community. A meeting yesterday resolved that police should answer to allegations that they failed to respond to an emergency call.
“What worries people is that this is a tourist area and with such crimes, we lose business. is lucky to be alive. We are told that they are in a bad state in hospital,” said Ngcwembe. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Teacher's harrowing rape ordeal at home
The Hamburg woman, whose identity is being protected, was raped.
The Daily Dispatch yesterday spoke to relatives, who said police had failed them.
Officers allegedly failed to respond to the crime scene in the early hours of Monday morning, claiming they did not have a functioning vehicle.
The station is just 500 metres from the house. A relative of the victims said the attacker gained entry through a garage window just before midnight on Sunday. The mother and child, who live alone in a three-bedroom home in the small coastal hamlet, were fast asleep at the time.
The woman woke up when she felt someone grabbing hold of her arm. “She was shocked by this and wrestled with the assailant, but he overpowered her and hacked her in the head . She became unconscious and fell,” said the relative.
The little boy was woken by the commotion and went to his mother’s room. He tried to switch on the lights, but the mains had been switched off. “That’s when he attacked the boy with an axe.”
When the woman regained consciousness, her son was in the room, bleeding from a gash in the head. The man was demanding money, cellphones and a gun.
“When he could not get the gun, he asked the victim what she was offering him. She gave him a bank card and that was not enough.
“He dragged her to another room,” the relative said. The woman was raped in the other room. She begged her attacker not to kill them.
“She even promised that she’s not going to tell anyone what had happened, she was scared.”
The suspect left the house after 2am – with R2000 in cash and two cellphones. The mother and son ran to a neighbour’s house where the police station was called.
“Police kept saying they were coming. They later said their vehicle was not starting and they would walk. We offered them a car but they refused,” said the relative. She said an ambulance, which travelled 100km to the scene, arrived before the police.
The woman and her son were rushed to an East London hospital.
The little boy had surgery yesterday to his head injuries. Relatives said he was recovering in ICU, where he was expected to remain until Friday. They said the woman was recovering in a general ward.
Peddie police spokesman Constable Thomas Mayoli said they were investigating the case.
“There are three counts: rape, attempted murder and house breaking. Also the acting cluster commander has assigned a senior detective to investigate the allegations that the police failed to respond,” he said.
Hamburg community policing forum (CPF) chairman Ludidi Ngcwembe said the incident had shocked the community. A meeting yesterday resolved that police should answer to allegations that they failed to respond to an emergency call.
“What worries people is that this is a tourist area and with such crimes, we lose business. is lucky to be alive. We are told that they are in a bad state in hospital,” said Ngcwembe. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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