Homeowner fights off two intruders
Burglars were denied a Christmas payday after a KZN homeowner wrestled them off as they attempted to ransack his home.
|||Durban - Burglars might have had a fruitful time in Hillcrest over Christmas, but one homeowner fought back, knocking the stuffing out of two of them.
Private security company Secure Link spokesman, Steven King, said the Waterfall area had nine reported crime incidents within 48 hours between December 24 and 25.
This included a house robbery, seven burglaries and an incident where a man had his card swiped by ATM scammers and R1 000 withdrawn from it at a local shopping mall.
But Kirk Olivier, 53, of Niagara Drive, refused to become a victim.
On Christmas Eve, Olivier went to investigate a noise in the lounge. Instead of finding Santa slipping down the chimney, he encountered two burglars who had ripped the gate off the wall.
The men attacked him with a metal pipe and a braai fork.
Olivier, an electronic engineer, fought back and managed to punch one of the assailants in the face. The men fled the home empty- handed.
“I was in my study looking over some work documents. The noise sounded like the ceiling had collapsed. The duo did not expect me to rush at them.
“A pipe was thrown at me. It struck my shoulder and fell to the floor. They both pounded me with the pipes while I wrestled with them. It was blow for blow,” Olivier said.
He said his dining room table, chairs and a couch had been overturned in the fracas. He also had bite marks on his knuckles.
Two chunks of wall plaster and the burglar gate lay on the floor.
One of Olivier’s dogs had a lump on the chest. He said he was not sure if the dog had been hit by the men.
Hillcrest police are investigating.
King urged homeowners to be vigilant and ensure they activated their alarms.
“Even if you live in a complex you are just as vulnerable as anybody else. Complex burglaries have increased.
“This is just the beginning of the silly season so let’s not make it an easy payday for criminals.”
Daily News
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