HERMANUS – A woman faked having a heart attack in a desperate attempt to escape her knife wielding attacker during a robbery at a popular look-out point last week.
The woman who prefers to remain anonymous, and a friend were busy taking photos of the beautiful scenery from the top of Rotary Drive when they were accosted by a man brandishing a large knife. “It seems he just appeared out of nowhere, out of thin air,” she said.
The hold-up reportedly occurred about 17:00 on Friday 18 February and the man wore what seemed to be a security guard’s uniform.
Just before he reached them, she managed to hide her cellphone in her underwear. Luckily for the women they had left their bags in the car and locked the vehicle.
“He had a big knife, like a pirate’s knife,” she recalled. “He told us to lie on the ground and threatened to kill us.
“When he couldn’t get my wedding ring off my finger he threatened to cut it off. It seems he had been watching us beforehand, because he demanded the cellphone when he couldn’t find it in my pocket. Luckily he didn’t get the car key as it is very small. I removed the cellphone and handed it over.”
He managed to steal her wedding ring, watch and cellphone and her friend’s expensive camera and earrings.
In an attempt to distract him she grabbed her chest and pretended to have a heart attack.
“My friend shouted at him to phone for an ambulance and he ran away. We ran to the car and locked the doors. As we were driving we saw an old couple and warned them not to stop because we had been robbed.”
Another vehicle with three occupants sped past them. “I think they may have been his accomplices because they were dressed in the same way,” she recalled. “He was probably waiting for them. They probably would have raped or hijacked us or forced us to an ATM to withdraw money.”
After laying a charge at the police station and informing them of the suspicious-looking vehicle with the three occupants, she contacted well-known second-hand stores and sent them photos of the stolen goods so they could be on the look-out for it.
“I always used to tell visitors to go to Rotary Drive for the beautiful views, but I will no longer do this after what happened,” she said.
Captain Fadila September, spokesperson for Hermanus police, confirmed a robbery was being investigated.
“No arrests have been made,” she said. “The investigation continues.”
