A LANCASTER Grove resident has recounted the details of her brutal assault at the hands of robbers posing as municipal workers last Tuesday. Letitia Ferreira, was home alone when she noticed two men dressed in what she said were eThekwini municipal worker overalls outside her front gate.
The men purported to be visiting the homes in the area to read electricity meters with the aim of replacing them.
“The two men were well-spoken, neatly dressed and were very professional when they arrived. I noticed the municipal logo on their overalls so I let the men in when they said they were there to read the meters.
“The men first went to the outside meter and then said they needed to look at the distribution board inside the house. I have two dogs and I locked them away because one of them is very protective and I had no reason to doubt the men’s intentions,” she said.
Read also: Rogue police kidnap and assault victims, demand 50k in Springfield
Once inside, one of the suspects showed Ferreira an exercise book with various meter readings.
“He told me he was going to write down a cell phone number for me for when they started replacing the meters. As I sat down at a table with the one man, the second man walked behind me and began choking me. I tried to scream but he put his other hand over my mouth and nose. They began punching me and kept shouting ‘where’s the gold and the money?’. One of the men then found chords in the house to bind my feet and hands tightly. They then moved me to the bedroom and I feared I would be raped by the men.
“When I told them I didn’t have gold or much in the house the men kept kicking and punching me. As I rolled from the bed to the floor, one of the men actually sat on my back while demanding to know where the valuables are. Throughout this they kept punching me. They threw the duvet cover me on the floor and began ransacking my house,” she said.
The suspects made off with cameras, two watches, Ferreira’s reading glasses, a cell phone and a pair of sandals.
In other crime news: Robberies rock Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve
“I was too scared to move when the men began ransacking the home however when it got quite, I knew the men had gone. Because I couldn’t stand up, I managed to crawl to the stable door at the front of my home, open it and shout for help,” she said.
Security personnel and Greenwood Park police managed to track the stolen cell phone’s signal Dr Pixley Kasame (West Street) around 20 minutes after the robbery but the phone was soon switched off by the suspects.
The 64-year-old said while she was still in shock following the home invasion, said she now planned to purchase a gun to protect herself.
You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
