YET another family was terrorized in their home by a group a thugs during a home robbery yesterday morning. The uMhlanga family of four was disturbed at 5.20am, when two men entered the property on Chartwell Drive.
The bloodcurdling screams of the mother broke the peaceful silence in their home, when the thieves attempted to tie her up while she was sleeping in her bed. According to Lt Raymond Deokaran, Durban North SAPS spokesperson, the men also ‘slapped’ her as she fought back and tried to put a plastic bag over her head. “We believe is was an attempt to silence her,” said Deokaran.
Her son, who was sleeping in his room nearby, was woken by his mother’s screams and quickly rushed to her aid. As he attempted to fight off the brazen thieves he was repeatedly hit on the head with a brick.
The thieves, who did not carry any firearms, then forced the family into the living room, where the father had fallen asleep, and tied them up. They then proceeded to ransack the family’s home as the mother, father, son and grandmother watched in terror.
After grabbing various items, such as cellphones and laptops, the thieving duo fled the scene in the family’s vehicle. Police later recovered the vehicle, after it was abandoned on the M4.
Deokaran confirmed that the robbers gained entry through the daughter’s bedroom and proceeded to the mother’s room. The daughter was not home at the time of the incident. “The mother and son did not sustain serious injuries, but the whole family was obviously traumatized,” he said.
This incident follows a house robbery in La Lucia, where a family was tied up by four men in Ridge Road. Two of the men were armed and they made off with the family safe, which held an undisclosed amount of cash.
A case of house robbery has been opened at the station.
