‘Two robbers nearly killed my son for R150,’ says mother of autistic boy

Last Tuesday, Chrisanthy Peens (38) and her son Jannie (8) survived a house robbery during which he was stabbed five times.

She says her son is autistic and has difficulty speaking, wears diapers and cannot walk very far, therefore he sometimes uses a wheelchair.

“He wasn’t happy when he woke up on Tuesday morning. At 10am we went outside, where I watched him playing on the trampoline, which stands on the front porch,” she says.

She suddenly noticed two short men wearing blue overalls and balaclavas standing next to her.

The suspects, both armed with knives, ordered the mother and child to go inside and not scream.

One suspect allegedly grabbed Chrisanthy by the hair, while the other one got hold of Jannie and pushed them into the house.

She says by that time Jannie was hysterical and the suspects ordered her to “shut him up”.

“As we entered the lounge, the suspects demanded cash, but when I informed them I don’t have any money in the house, they started stabbing my son,” she says.

Jannie was stabbed once on each arm, twice in his upper back and once in his stomach.

She claims she was hysterical and tried to fight the suspect to try and save her son.

Read: Disabled Springs boy (8) stabbed several times

“Watching your child being stabbed is not something I wish upon anybody,” she says.

One of the suspects cut her arm 10 times with his knife and allegedly hit her head against the wall several times until she lost consciousness.

She regained consciousness and saw her son standing in the kitchen.

“I immediately realised the suspects had left the house, but I couldn’t walk and had to crawl to my phone to call my husband,” she says.

During this time, she claims her son came to her and she tried to comfort him as best she could while still feeling dizzy.

The first person she phoned was her husband Pieter, and asked him to come home and call Netcare 911.

She then phoned Carol Small, from the Strubenvale Community Association, who was on the scene within minutes.

“I have never heard my son screaming so much. I though the suspects were going to kill him,” she says.

Both mother and son were taken to the Netcare N17 Hospital’s emergency rooms, where there wounds were treated.

Read: Woman arrested for stabbing boyfriend

However, Jannie was transferred to Life Parkland Hospital to establish whether he had any internal injuries.

Chrisanthy says, “Thank God my son is alive and that he survived the ordeal.”

She says Jannie is fine now but she takes him to a local pediatrician for regular check-ups.

“Two robbers nearly killed my son for R150,” she adds.

Capt Johannes Ramphora, Springs police spokesman, says no arrests have been made.