Staff Reporter
A Bethlehem man aged 31 was arrested this week after he stabbed his cousin several times following a failed rape attempt in her house.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said the accused was arrested by members of the Bethlehem K9 Unit on the street after bolting out of the house following the attack on the 19-year-old cousin on Tuesday.
It is alleged the woman was washing dishes at her house in the Egypt area of Bohlokong township in Bethlehem.
She shares the house with her other cousins but not the accused.
According to the police, her other cousins who were sitting outside the house said they heard her scream and then saw the suspect leaving the house.
“They went inside to investigate and found the victim lying in a pool of blood,” said Mbambo in a statement.
“She told them that the cousin (suspect) tried to rape her and when he didn’t succeed, he allegedly stabbed her with a knife,” she added.
The victim was taken to hospital with multiple stab wounds where she is in a critical condition.
The accused was set to appear in the Bethlehem Magistrates Court today on a charge of attempted murder.
On Sunday morning, residents from the same township took to the streets and beat up a man accused of stabbing and killing his friend with a knife following an argument while having drinks with others.
They blocked roads with burning tyres and threw stones at motor vehicles
It is believed when the two got into an argument, Tankiso Nhlapo, 27, allegedly pulled Molefe Edwin Letsoaka, 32, out of the room where they were drinking with friends and stabbed him before fleeing the scene.
Nhlapo was later found by community members and was severely assaulted.
Letsoaka died on the scene from stab wounds and Nhlapo was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.