| 25
January 2006 |
| Woman held at knifepoint |
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By Lynette Louw
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A woman working at the Barberton Provincial Hospital was held at knifepoint on Monday morning by two burglars at her home in Sheba Road.
Beaulah Lippiatt (49) woke up when her alarm went of at 05:00. She opened the door of her bedroom, only to be confronted by two men. One wore a balaclava and the other had a cloth pulled over his face. The grabbed her and held her at knifepoint. She begged them to let her use the toilet, which they permitted while standing watch.
According to Insp. Jesmorie Goosen, the one man tried to tie her hands with masking tape while she was still in the bathroom. The other moved about in the house and came back with a duvet, which they tore into shreds and used to tie up her hands and feet.
“One asked me in English for money,” a shocked Lippiatt told Barberton Times later that day. She explained to them where her handbag was but pleaded that they don’t take her money, as it was all she had and she didn’t earn very much. Her pleas fell on deaf ears and the one burglar pocketed the R770 that she had in her purse. He also took her cell phone.
They then took her car keys and demanded that she tell them how to use the remote to unlock her Honda Ballade. They gagged and bound her so that she could not scream.
She tried to close the bathroom door but they were too strong for her. “They opened it and pushed the knife against my neck,” she said. Fortunately not much damage was done as the cloth protected her.
The burglars then took her back to her room, got her to lie down on her bed and threw a duvet over her. One stayed with her while the other went out and started her car.
It was at this stage that her neighbours realised that something was wrong. According to Jan Viljoen, he heard her car start up and as he works with Beaulah at the hospital, he knew it was too early for her to leave.
He walked out to the front of her house only to see a man speed away. He and Joseph Nkosi then rushed to her house and found a hole in the mesh on her stoep.
They called out to Lippiatt but got no response. Jan wanted to go into the house but was stopped by Joseph who phoned the police. They were on the scene within minutes and on entering the house, found one burglar still with her in the room. He was arrested.
Lippiatt was taken to the hospital where she was treated for shock and a neck wound. She was discharged the same day and recuperating at a friend’s house.
The other burglar is still at large and a case of robbery and theft was opened.
Vusi Simba will appear in court today.
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Three prosecutors from the Barberton Magistrate’s Court were recently honoured for excellent service at the 2005 National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) awards for the Nelspruit cluster.
Advocate Elise van Rooyen won the award for the best control prosecutor, Kim Meyers the best district prosecutor and Lucky Mngomezulu the most improved.
According to Van Rooyen they were judged on the quality of work, number of court hours, administration and prosecuting success rate.
Kim Meyers handled 948 court cases during 2005 with a 93,9% success rate.
“The prosecutors of the Barberton Magistrate’s Court are like a close-knit family with a good working relationship,” Van Rooyen said.
The Nelspruit cluster includes magistrate’s courts in Nelspruit, Lydenburg, Whiteriver, Khabokweni, Graskop, Sabie, Tonga and Barberton.
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The first upmarket wildlife estate in the Barberton area will be launched on Friday evening, January 27, with new life evolving in the mountain land.
The development of the estate will create a major economic boost for the town.
The Greenstone Wildlife Estate is accessible from the Fairview Mine road and encompasses 82 one-hectare full-title stands in pristine indigenous bush. The 270 hectare development is adjacent to the Mountainland Game Reserve, only a stone’s throw away from town and borders the Monte Vista property development.
According to Jannie de Witt, one of the directors of New Line Investments, security is of utmost importance. Electrified fences have been erected along the southern and western boundaries. A 24-hour manned security gate will be operational as well as armed response.
Where the property abuts on the game reserve, no fencing will be erected, resulting in the free roaming of wildlife on the estate. Zebra, impala, blue wildebeest, duiker are in abundance and can be seen grazing the lush vegetation.
A holistic approach has been adopted in the placement, selection and composition of each stand relative to others, in order to facilitate the land use requirements, protection of the environment and to ensure privacy, Jannie said.
“Architectural and planning guidelines will be implemented to ensure that all development will be in accordance with the nature of the development, with strong emphasis on blending into the environment,” he said.
Guidelines for gardening include the cultivation of indigenous plants. Gardening outside the footprint area of the site will be limited to flora endemic to the area, provided that no sensitive or red data plant species are removed or disturbed.
Special care has been taken in the construction of the gravel roads. Even after the estate received more than 200mm rainfall during the past two weeks, the roads are still in a good condition.
The development of the estate is the brainchild of Jannie de Witt, André van den Bergh and Charl de Witt, directors of New Line Investments. After Jannie had obtained 80 hectares of land from the Eastern Consolidated Mines (ETC Mines) in August 2003, he and his partners acquired the remainder from Umjindi Municipality.
The Gallagher Property Group has been appointed as the sole agents for the Greenstone Wildlife Estate, selling the stands for R500 000 each. With many prospective buyers interested, obtaining one of these prestigious stands could develop in a rush similar to the Barberton Gold rush experienced more than 100 years ago.
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