7 black male suspects in a violent housebreaking in Sasolburg the night before Christmas last year, have been released three weeks ago -- despite five housebreakers having been positively identified by victim Leon Chamberlain, 62 and his family. One of the attackers had pushed a gunbarrel to Mrs Chamberlain's head, shouting 'Shut Up White Bitch'.
When the family went to enquire at the Sasolburg magistrate's court they were told that the seven men were 'released three weeks ago due to a lack of evidence.'
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Beeld newspaper report: June 17 2013. Seven black male suspects who shot local man Leon Chamberlain, leaving his fingers paralysed, were released three weeks ago without the family's knowledge:
the Sasolburg magistrate's court allegedly released the men - five of whom were identified by their victims in an identity parade - due a 'lack of evidence'.
The day before Christmas 2012, Mr Leon Chamberlain 62 was shot in the stomach and repeatedly beaten with a car-jack over his body. He's still in hospital: trying to recover, linked to machines and drained by a body-bag.
The family who went to enquire about the whereabouts of the case, heard at the Sasolburg magistrate's court that the three seven suspects were released three weeks earlier due to a 'lack of evidence'.
Five of the seven arrested house-robbery suspects were positively identified by the Chamberlain family during an identity parade.
SAPS constable Peter Kareli of the Sasolburg police 'were unable to confirm this because he could not reach the investigating officer in the case'.
Mr Chamberlain told the Afrikaans daily Beeld that he was no longer able to use his fingers to grab with. He spoke from his hospital bed.
He was shot in the stomach and his neck vertebrae were injured in the attack, which occurred on the night before Christmas 2012 while the family was asleep.
Leon woke up when he heard someone he thought was breaking into their bakkie parked in front of their bedroom window, his wife Susan said.
She was lying with her back to her husband in bed and was just turning over towards him when someone hit her hard with a fist in the face.
"I just screamed and my daughter and her friend came storming into our bedroom with my nine-month-old granddaughter, she said.
“Leon het wakker geskrik en gesê hy dink iemand breek by die bakkie in wat voor ons kamervenster staan,” het sy vrou, Susan, gesê.
She didn't realise immediately that her husband was shot. "One man pushed a 9mm pistol barrel to my head and said: 'Shut Up White Bitch.
Mr Chamberlain is in hospital, linked to machines and a drainage pipe. He said he was shot when he tried to pick up a small air rifle by the barrel to hit his wife's attacker over the head with it when the man said:
"You have a gun', and fired a shot into his stomach. "The bullet went into my stomach and exited my right side,' he said.
Chamberlain was treated in the intensive-care unit of the hospital from December to May, when he was released but readmitted a week earlier to have his gall-bladder removed: infection set in in the injured area.
http://www.beeld.com/nuus/2013-06-17-7-vrygelaat-al-ken-gesin-hul-uit-n-aanval
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