Man robbed, beaten and burnt with acid in horror taxi ride

A taxi ride that was supposed to take *Abraham Chichewa (not his real name) from the Workshop in Durban CBD to his home in Parlock on Sunday night ended with him being pistol-whipped, robbed and acid poured over his head, causing extensive burns, at Lindelani township, Berea Mail reports.

Chichewa, who is a Malawian national, and asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, suffered burns to his face, chest and arms after he was attacked by three men, who also robbed him of R2 500, his cellphone and shoes.

READ MORE: Taxi drivers ‘attack motorists’ giving lifts to stranded commuters

Speaking from his hospital bed in Addington Hospital this week, he recounted his horror ride, which started when he took a taxi from the Workshop at about 10pm, which he was told was going to Parlock.

The acid burn victim has been admitted at Addignton Hospital. PHOTO by Rudy Nkgadima.

“I was coming back from Chatsworth. When I got to the city it was already dark. I stopped a taxi which was passing by, and asked if it was going to Parlock. The driver said yes so I got in.

“Inside, I found two passengers seated at the back, but I did not suspect anything because everything seemed normal. However, when the taxi drove past Parlock, I told the driver that it was my stop, and it was at that moment the two guys at the back attacked me,” he said.

“When we got to Lindelani, I was hit with a gun on my head, and again they started kicking me until they finally poured a burning substance on top of my head. I tried using my hands to wipe it off because it was burning, and I couldn’t see clearly. I walked to a nearby house, and asked for water to wash it off, but I was told that the substance was in fact acid,” he said.

After walking around blindly with his skin peeling off from the burning acid, Chichewa decided to walk back to Parlock. It was at about 11pm, he was barefoot and in pain. “The acid burnt through my clothes and jeans to such extent that I was virtually naked by the time I arrived at my home at 4.40am on Monday morning,” he said.

Speaking to the Berea Mail, Abdul Gani, the man’s employer said he was appealing to anyone who might have seen the incident to report the matter to the police.

“Justice has to be served, and those responsible must be brought to book. We will do anything in our power to help him, but we are hoping that someone out there saw who did this and they will do the right thing,” he said.

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