A 67-year-old Phoenix man, who was bound and gagged during a robbery at his home, managed to remove his gag and scream for help.
|||Durban - A 67-year-old Phoenix man was bound and gagged during a robbery at his home on Tuesday.
The attack happened at 7.40am in Rosemanor Road, according to private security company Reaction Unit South Africa.
The pensioner told security officers that he was attacked by a knife-wielding man.
The robber tied the victim’s hands behind his back with shoelaces and gagged him with a T-shirt. The robber then locked the pensioner in his bedroom while he ransacked the home.
The pensioner managed to remove the T-shirt from his mouth and screamed for help, alerting neighbours who rushed to his aid.
The robber had fled by the time neighbours arrived.
He took a hi-fi, a DVD player, a cellphone and the victim’s wallet with his entire month’s pension.
The pensioner told security men that he did not know if the robber had accomplices.
When the Daily News visited the home on Tuesday, the pensioner, who lives alone, was not there.
However, his neighbour, Alax Appalsamy, said he rushed to investigate when he heard him scream.
“I took his house spare key that he gave me and rushed to see what was going on.
“When I arrived I could not open the gate because he had changed the key and forgot to give me the spare key. I asked another guy to jump the fence to get inside,” he said.
Appalsamy found his neighbour tied up with a shoelace.
He said residents in the area were living in fear after a number of break-ins.
“I decided to get two dogs for my family’s safety,” Appalsamy said.
Daily News