Robbers have beaten to death the wife of a former Cabinet minister in her East Rand home, the Star reported on Tuesday
Three gunmen beat, pistol-whipped and strangled Sandra Rabie (48) outside the garage of her Boksburg home at 11pm on Thursday.
Rabie was the wife of Jac Rabie (66), former minister of population development in the National Party government of FW De Klerk.
Rabie told the newspaper he was asleep when the robbers, in their twenties, dragged his wife around the house, throwing her onto the passage floor.
They pulled him out of bed and demanded money, then bound his feet with a wire coat hanger before tossing him on the floor next to his wife.
He called out to her, but she did not move. A robber threw water in her face, telling him: ”She is pretending to be out, but she is fine.”
When the couple’s son, Diego (16), arrived home, the armed men ordered him to open the safe.
He gave them the key and was also tied up, but freed himself after the robbers had fled. He also untied his parents before going for help.
Paramedics declared Mrs Rabie dead on the scene.
East Rand police directed all enquiries about the murder to the provincial office, but spokesperson Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo was said to be in a conference and unavailable for comment. — Sapa