Port Elizabeth police are on the hunt for a 24-year-old man after he allegedly assaulted his parents when they refused to give him money.
The Zwide couple laid the complaint on October 27 after the mother was almost beaten to death the day before over R50 their son had demanded.
The mother, 55, who asked that she and her husband, 57, not be named, said they lived in constant fear that their son might kill them while they slept.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said there was a protection order against the son and this was not the first time he had been charged with a similar offence.
“On November 29, the matter would go for mediation at court since the parents made a case against the son and the son [opened a counter] case against the parents. But we hope to catch him before that.
“At this point, the police are doing their best to find him and hopefully before the court date so he could be charged with assault,” he said.
He said that in 2016, the man was charged for assaulting his parents but the parents later withdrew the charges.
All the addresses supplied by the parents where their son could be proved fruitless.
For the past week, the mother has slept at the Kwazakhele police station charge office while her husband was at work.
Families South Africa (Famsa) official Nombeko Nqweniso said: “When the police arrest him it would be better if counselling is provided.
“He may serve his sentence but when he [gets out] he might be angrier and actually harm his parents again.”
Family law attorney Joanne Anthony-Gooden said it would be best for the mother to be placed at a safe home until the son is arrested.