Her screams alerted neighbours and saved her boss
|||Dressed only in her pyjamas Betty Hlalethwa risked her life to save her employer.
Advocate Lucas van Tonder and his friend Jessica Saurwein from Cape Town were held up on Wednesday night by three armed and balaclava-clad robbers in his Parkmore, Sandton, home, when Hlalethwa, 44, entered.
They had tied up Saurwein before beating up the Cape wine estate owner and holding him at gunpoint as they ransacked his home for money, jewellery and other valuables.
Hlalethwa screamed loudly as the robbers tried to grab her.
She fought them off and as she did, she alerted Van Tonder’s next door neighbour who shot and hit at least one of the robbers.
“I had just finished taking a shower when I heard the dogs barking non-stop and I went out to check and try to bring them in,” a shaken Hlalethwa recalled yesterday.
“When I left the main house earlier, Mr Van Tonder had still been in the dining room eating. When I returned to check on the dogs, I saw two men wearing balaclavas standing at the door to his bedroom. One of them yelled at me to get inside and pulled at me, but I screamed loudly.”
One of the gunmen clubbed her with his pistol. She saw blood dripping on the floor from her wound, but did not stop screaming for help.
“I kept screaming because I thought they were going to kill me. When they grabbed me, my boss wasn’t there, but I saw one of the men run out with his bags with the new cameras,” said Hlalethwa.
“A few minutes after the one had left the house with the bag I heard gunshots at the gate and the remaining two ran out trying to escape with stolen cellphones and jewellery.”
Van Tonder said one of the robbers was shot in the chest, neck and head by a neighbour who responded to Hlalethwa’s screams. The two other robbers were caught by security guards and neighbours while attempting to escape.
Police confirmed the two robbers appeared in court yesterday on charges of robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms. Police would not confirm the condition of the third robber who had been shot.
Last night, one of the neighbours told how her husband responded to the pleas for help.
“He suspected that there was a robbery in progress. When he walked out of the gate, he saw movement at our neighbour’s gate, and as he asked the guy what he was doing, he realised the guy was carrying a firearm, so he opened fire himself. We were terrified, but we are glad that we were able to help,” she said.
Yesterday, Van Tonder heaped praise on Hlalethwa.
“I was held and beaten up badly. If it hadn’t been for Betty, I would be dead.
“Police said these robbers were part of gang that has been robbing houses in the area.”
He said the investigating officers had told him the man who was shot and is in a critical condition was linked to the hijacking of Judith Sexwale, wife of Human Settlement Minister Tokyo Sexwale’, in 2007. Police could not confirm this.
Police spokeswoman Constable Matome Tlamela said the robbers remained in custody after their case was postponed yesterday. Investigating officer Captain Kim Cloete of the Sandton police could not be reached for comment.
Hlalethwa said yesterday she was still shocked by the incident, having been forced to stare down the barrel of a gun for the first time in her life.
She’s been working for Van Tonder for seven years.
“I’m still scared to go into the house at night,” she said. “Every time I climb the staircase I feel like I am going through the ordeal again. I can still visualise how the men in their balaclavas looked. I thought I was going to die.” - Saturday Star