DURBAN – A VEHICLE that was stolen on Tuesday in Ottawa by suspects posing as beggars after they stabbed a woman who was seated in the silver grey car eight times and it was recovered in Cornubia hours later.
The Mercury reported yesterday that the Verulam small business owner was with her brother-in-law in Ottawa collecting stock when the suspects, who moments before had asked for food or money, stabbed her and made off with the vehicle.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala, said it was alleged by the complainant that on Tuesday at about 2:30pm, he was with his sister in-law driving a silver grey vehicle on Sunker Road when they were accosted by armed suspects.
“The suspects at gunpoint robbed them of their belongings, an undisclosed amount of cash and stabbed his sister in-law multiple times on the upper body,” she said.
Gwala said the suspects fled the scene in the complainants' vehicle which was later recovered by the police in a sugar cane field in Cornubia.
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) paramedics transported the woman, who was in a critical condition, to a nearby hospital yesterday and Reaction officers were also involved in the recovery of the vehicle.
Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said the victims were visiting a business premises on Sunker Road when two suspects accosted a 33-year-female who was seated in the vehicle.
He said the driver, a 21-year-old from Mumbai India, was confronted by a gunman after he went to his sister-in-law’s aid.
“(He) was forced to lie on the ground. The second suspect was armed with a knife and robbed the female of a large amount of cash. He stabbed her eight times before they sped off in the grey Honda Ballade,”said Balram.
He said information was later received that the hijacked vehicle was spotted in the Cornubia area.
“Reaction officers conducted an extensive search of the area and recovered the vehicle abandoned in a cane field,” he said.
He added that the seriously injured woman, who is also from Mumbai and has been running a business in Verulam for several years, is receiving medical attention at a hospital.
Police said charges of carjacking and robbery were opened in Verulam SAPS for investigation.
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