The Eastern Free State police showed what are they made of when they tackled farm attackers on Rooihoogte farm near Rosendal. This was after the farm workers and farmers had assisted in the battle to search for the suspects. The police won the fight by arresting seven suspects, confiscating two vehicles, knives, cellphones and two firearms robbed from the farm. On 8 June 2009 at approximately 08:00 seven to eight unknown people stormed into the farm house of Mr Japie van Rensburg (64) who had left his house to feed the cattle in the veld with three of the farm workers. It is alleged that at the house, two of the eight suspects confronted Ms Anna Lesesa (23), the domestic worker on the farm. They gained entry into the kitchen door which was open and took her cellphone. They proceeded into the bedrooms where they found Mrs Martha van den Berg (79), the mother of Mrs Nellie van Rensburg (53), the farmer's wife. The suspects assaulted both women, tied them with telephone cables and demanded the safe's keys. They opened the safe and took a shotgun, a .22 rifle and a .22 pistol and fled the scene. It is alleged that the same suspects threatened a woman on a nearby farm and robbed her of her jersey and a pair of shoes. The farm workers reported the incident to the daughter of the farmer who is owning a family business in town. She alerted the police and called the family doctor and an ambulance. Both women were taken to their family doctor in Ficksburg. They sustained serious injuries. The Rosendal police organised themselves and sought assistance from the neighbouring police stations. They also called in a helicopter to search for the suspects. The farm workers assisted the police by showing them where the suspects hid themselves. According to some of the farm workers who witnessed the suspects fleeing the farm, they saw them hiding in the nearby mealie field. The police helicopter hovered over the land searching but left the area soon. The farmers and the police traced the suspects on a nearby farm. The police recovered two firearms, knives stolen from the farm and three cellphones which belonged to the three women. The third firearm, a shotgun has not yet been recovered. One of the suspects was shot and injured in the mealie field during a shootout with the police and farmers. He is under police guard in a hospital in the Free State. The suspects are between 25 and 50 years old. Some of them reside in Rustenburg and the others are from Meqheleng near Ficksburg. The police arrested two women who had been linked to the farm attack. They also confiscated a red Opel Monza suspected of having been stolen as well as a silver/grey BMW. These vehicles were to be the getaway cars. The seven suspects are expected to appear in the Ficksburg District Court on Thursday, 11 June 2009. The arrests were made possible by the 14 hours of hard work and investigation by the farmers, the farm workers, the Phuthaditjhaba Organised Crime Unit, the Crime Intelligence members from Bethlehem, the Dog Unit from Ficksburg, Visible Policing Ficksburg, the Crime Combating Unit Bethlehem, the Rosendal SAPS and the Bloemfontein Air Wing. Two robbers are still at large. Any person with information that may lead to their arrest can contact their nearest police station or the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111. You can also contact the Phuthaditjhaba Crime Unit at 058 718 4229.
|
