Police searching for four suspects who hijacked four Lenasia men last week

22/06/2009 http://www.lenzinfo.org.za

Police are still searching for four suspects who hijacked four men from Lenasia on Thursday night. The victims were forced into the boot of their Toyota and then driven to Durban. Forensic experts from Pretoria were flown into Durban to conduct tests on the car which the gang had abandoned in the city centre. One of the victims is still being treated for shock at a local hospital in the city while the other two men are believed to have returned to Johannesburg. The men told authorities that they were forced into the boot of their car on Thursday night. The victims managed to kick the back seat down and call for help after their attackers abandoned the vehicle on Friday afternoon. However, when paramedics arrived one of the victims had already died of suffocation.

Hijack survivor tells of hell boot ride

A traumatized hijack victim described on Saturday how he tried to resuscitate his younger brother as life ebbed from him in a car boot where they had been incarcerated with two other men for almost 16 hours. Claude Govender, 26, held his brother Dexter, 21, whispering encouragement and trying to blow air into his lungs. A short while later the hijack victims were freed. It was too late for Dexter, however, who was declared dead at the scene in Cross Street, Durban. "I always looked out for Dexter, but this time I could do nothing," Govender said. "I don't know how my mother is going to cope with this loss. He was her angel." The ordeal endured by the Govenders, their cousin, Gerard Govender, 21, and a close friend, Justin Pillay, 24, began at around 10pm on Thursday night, in Lenasia South, Johannesburg. Claude and Gerard said they had been en route in their silver Toyota Corolla to pick up Dexter and Justin so they could "hang out" together when they stopped at a café for snacks. A woman, who gave her name as "Beryl", approached them and asked whether she could have a lift to an address she provided. When the men dropped her off, she asked for Claude's cell phone number. A little later, once the cousins had collected Dexter and Justin, the woman called, saying she had friends she would like to introduce them to. Although the four men did not plan on a late night, because they all had to work the next day, they drove to meet the woman. "She had two men with her, and they asked us to drive them to another address," said Claude. "Then the one, who had been introduced as Graham, produced a gun. The second was armed with a golf club. They took our bank cards and cell phones and commanded us to lie down in the back of the car. Finally they stopped in a dark street and ordered us into the boot. We had to scrunch our bodies to fit in." The hijackers drove their victims around the streets of Johannesburg for several hours, stopping periodically, before taking the N3 freeway towards Durban. "After a while our bodies became numb, and we could feel that the air was running out," Gerard said. "We talked softly to one another, but when they heard us, they opened the small seat at the back, and hit Claude in the face with the butt of the gun. At one point they stopped and we could hear running water. The driver said he was going to roll the car into a river and drown us." As the hours passed, the four victims fell silent. They were battling to breathe. At around 11am on Friday the hijackers stopped at a large shopping mall and left the men in the boot in the sun for a lengthy period, before resuming their tortuous ride. One of the two men did not return to the car. "The one hijacker, who kept his face hidden, opened the flap in the seat to demand bank card pin numbers," Gerard said. "I caught a glimpse of the surroundings and it looked like Gateway." Now the men were sure they would die. Both Dexter and Justin were in respiratory distress. "They were clawing at us and mumbling incoherently," said Claude. "My brother's breathing changed and he began frothing at the mouth and choking. I kept telling him it would be all right, but he couldn't hear me." Between 2pm and 3pm the hijackers reached Durban and parked the stolen car in Cross Street, off Prince Edward. Threatening to shoot their victims if they tried to follow them, Beryl and Graham fled on foot, after agreeing to open the seat flap to let in air. "We waited a long time to be sure they really had gone, and then I squeezed through the gap in the seats and went for help," said Claude. Police and emergency personnel were at the scene in minutes, but repeated attempts to resuscitate Dexter failed. Justin is in a serious condition in hospital after suffering from dehydration and oxygen depletion. SAPS spokesman Insp Vincent Mdunge said police were following every possible lead to apprehend the hijackers.