The police arrested six men who were travelling in the hijacked vehicle. Picture: Supplied
SIX SUSPECTS have been arrested following the brutal hijacking of a motorist in Batlharos on March 3 at around 2am.
The victim, who suffered multiple stab wounds and a brutal assault, endured a nightmarish ordeal at the hands of his assailants in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Northern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Mashay Gamieldien said six men forcibly commandeered the motorist’s vehicle and drove with him to Mokala Mall in Kuruman.
“They continued to beat him and demanded the PIN number of his bank card,” said Gamieldien.
“After withdrawing money from his account at the ATM, they drove with him to a second ATM in Kuruman, where they again withdrew cash.
“The suspects then drove the stolen vehicle and left the complainant at the cemetery close to Kalahari High School.”
Gamieldien added that the men fled the scene in the hijacked grey Renault Kwid, leaving the badly injured motorist for dead.
“A passer-by discovered the badly injured motorist the following morning at around 9am and assisted him in contacting his family and the police.”
Gamieldien said members of the JTG Highway Patrol, Kuruman Detectives and the K9 unit swiftly mobilised and patrolled the area in Mapiniki, where they spotted the hijacked vehicle driving towards them later on Sunday.
“The SAPS team forced the vehicle off the road and arrested the six males who were found in possession of knives, believed to be the instruments used to assault the victim.
“The grey Renault Kwid was also confiscated and the injured motorist was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment,” added Gamieldien.
She stated that the suspects were expected to appear in the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court soon.
The Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, applauded the SAPS team for their “relentless efforts in pursuit of the perpetrators”.
“The police will not tolerate lawlessness in the Province,” Otola asserted.