A well-known man in Hawston has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman with a brick and dousing her with petrol because she had asked him for an entjie.
Ilse De Villiers says her sister Bianca Adonis, 42, says fortunately, the attacker couldn't strike a match after he noticed a neighbour witnessed the whole thing.
“But he followed her to her house and smashed her windows and had the can of petrol with him. He threatened to burn her house with her and her kids inside,” she says.
Ilse says the incident happened last week Monday and the suspect has since been arrested.
“He knows her well, he always had issues with her for no reason, and he has a lot of cases against him of women abuse,” she claims.
“We are all very upset about it. My mother is still struggling to cope with this, Bianca could've died.”
She adds: “He attacked me and my brother before also, we cannot understand what his problem is. We want justice to prevail because he is a danger to society, especially to women.”
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the suspect's arrest and that they are investigating a case of attempted murder.
“The 49-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, 8 October at 12:10. Hermanus police are investigating a case of attempted murder," he says.
As the community prepares for the suspect's upcoming court appearance, the Hawston Neighbourhood Watch(NHW) is kwaad and calls for serious action against the accused.
Lavinia Gillion, NHW spokesperson, expressed their deep concern about the attack.
“He hit her with a brick and threw petrol over the open wound. This is unacceptable, this is a defenceless woman and her kids were in the house. He didn't care about them,” she says.
She says the NHW will assist the family with a petition to keep the suspect behind bars: “We are willing to sign the petition and assist her at court with placards.”