A young intruder got more than he bargained for when a highly acidic chemical drain cleaner was allegedly thrown at him in a scuffle at a University of Fort Hare student residence.The youth, 24, died on the scene from the acid burn injuries.
The incident happened early yesterday in the Famona students’ residence, situated in Cowper Street, Quigney, East London, when a caretaker allegedly threw the acid at the intruder during a fight.
UFH spokeswoman Zintle Filtane said the name of the caretaker, who was stabbed during the altercation, would not be released because of safety concerns.
According to Filtane, the caretaker had been sleeping in his ground-floor room in the residence at around 5am when the man, armed with a knife, gained access through an open window.
“The caretaker had slept with the side window open because it was hot. The intruder used that window to get inside.
“The room has a wooden floor, so the moment he got inside the floor made some sound, waking up the caretaker,” Filtane said, adding that the caretaker had then allegedly been confronted by the youth and a fight ensued.
“There was a struggle … in the process our caretaker was stabbed below the eye.
“The caretaker then reached for a bucket filled with chemical acid, which he uses from time to time to clean the residence’s drainage systems, and poured it on the suspect,” Filtane said.
“The chemical acid is very harmful when mixed with water, so because it was raining and the suspect was wet the acid began eating at him.”
As the intruder began screaming in pain, the caretaker rushed outside and called for help.
Police and paramedics were then called to the scene.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana said the man was declared dead on the scene.
He said the caretaker, who was bleeding, was rushed to hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Tana described the incident as a case of “self-defence”.
“The intruder is unknown. We are still trying to determine his identity.
“We have opened a case of murder against the caretaker and a case of housebreaking against the intruder,” Tana said.
Filtane said the caretaker was traumatised and would be receiving counselling from university professionals.
She said the residence is watched by security guards but only during the day.
She said UFH students would take up residence during the end of next week for the 2016 academic year.
Acid cleaner kills Ft Hare residence intruder
The youth, 24, died on the scene from the acid burn injuries.
The incident happened early yesterday in the Famona students’ residence, situated in Cowper Street, Quigney, East London, when a caretaker allegedly threw the acid at the intruder during a fight.
UFH spokeswoman Zintle Filtane said the name of the caretaker, who was stabbed during the altercation, would not be released because of safety concerns.
According to Filtane, the caretaker had been sleeping in his ground-floor room in the residence at around 5am when the man, armed with a knife, gained access through an open window.
“The caretaker had slept with the side window open because it was hot. The intruder used that window to get inside.
“The room has a wooden floor, so the moment he got inside the floor made some sound, waking up the caretaker,” Filtane said, adding that the caretaker had then allegedly been confronted by the youth and a fight ensued.
“There was a struggle … in the process our caretaker was stabbed below the eye.
“The caretaker then reached for a bucket filled with chemical acid, which he uses from time to time to clean the residence’s drainage systems, and poured it on the suspect,” Filtane said.
“The chemical acid is very harmful when mixed with water, so because it was raining and the suspect was wet the acid began eating at him.”
As the intruder began screaming in pain, the caretaker rushed outside and called for help.
Police and paramedics were then called to the scene.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana said the man was declared dead on the scene.
He said the caretaker, who was bleeding, was rushed to hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Tana described the incident as a case of “self-defence”.
“The intruder is unknown. We are still trying to determine his identity.
“We have opened a case of murder against the caretaker and a case of housebreaking against the intruder,” Tana said.
Filtane said the caretaker was traumatised and would be receiving counselling from university professionals.
She said the residence is watched by security guards but only during the day.
She said UFH students would take up residence during the end of next week for the 2016 academic year.
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