/ 1 January 2002

Father killed in KwaZulu-Natal farm attack

A Tongaat man was shot dead and his son injured on their sugar cane plantation in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday morning, police said.

Superintendent Vasie Naidoo said Padmini Naicker (44) left the house of her family’s Evans Crescent farm at 4.30am to fetch an apron from the washing line when she was accosted by three armed men.

Alerted by his wife’s screams, Padmini’s husband Balasindrum (50) and her son Raishen (22) rushed outside to help. The attackers then opened fire on the two men.

Balasindrum was shot in the chest and died at the scene while Raishen was shot in his right thigh. The attackers then fled on foot, apparently without taking anything.

Naidoo said Raishen was in a stable condition at the Victoria Hospital in Tongaat. His mother was treated for shock at the farm. Police were combing the area for the suspects, she said. – Sapa