Rhodes students mugged in Kenton

JON HOUZET

TWO female Rhodes University students were stabbed by a robber who took their cash and a cellphone while they were walking on a path from Shelley Beach in Kenton-on-Sea recently.

According to Hendrik Dieckmann of the Kenton Sectional Police Forum, the incident happened on the afternoon of Saturday August 25.

He referred queries to the parents of one of the girls.

The mother, a Kenton resident, said her daughter was still traumatised by the incident and asked that her family's name not be published.

"The two girls went to the beach with four boys at Shelley Bay but it was very windy so the two girls decided to leave,” the mother said.

She said the path back from the beach was through a bushy area and is known as Jacob's Ladder.

"They heard somebody coming up behind them so they stood aside to let him pass,” the mother continued. "He came close and breathed on my daughter's neck. She pushed him away.”

She said the man demanded money and valuables. Aside from a "broken” cellphone all her daughter had on her was a plastic bangle and some friendship rings, which she handed over.

"He flicked a knife across her chest and cut her,” said the mother.

Her daughter's friend had a backpack on and the mugger demanded it too.

"She just asked to be able to keep her ID,” said the mother.

"He stabbed her in the arm, the elbow and the bum,” said the mother. "My daughter's friend picked up and bottle and wanted to fight him, but my daughter appealed to her not to.”

Their assailant then fled with the cellphone, rings and R80 in cash.

The mother said her daughter ran to the top of a hill and called for help, and the boys they were with on the beach eventually caught up, but were unable to find the mugger.

Family members called the police and Hi-Tech Security.

Both girls required stitches for their stab wounds.

They estimated their assailant was aged between 19 and 25, but no suspect has been identified yet. The public are urged to contact the police if suspicious persons are noticed in the Shelley Beach area.

• The death of an elderly man at Riversbend industrial area is being investigated.

Dieckmann said the rumour that police refused members of the public access to the victim to apply first-aid is unfounded.

"When SAPS members arrived on the scene, the victim had already passed away,” he said.

"Police attended a complaint earlier of assault at the premises and left the scene when the complaint was resolved. It is believed that the victim suffered the heart attack approximately 15 minutes thereafter.”

• Telkom cables were stolen on Riverside Farm and electrical cables were stolen from the water pump station at Diaz Cross.

Two arrests have been made for these thefts.

The community are urged to report suspicious movement in the area.

• Visitors to the Westbourne Road car park are encouraged to park their vehicles in the parking area at the slipway, as that area is monitored by cameras.

The grass parking at the top is not covered by surveillance cameras yet.