Hijackers get 18-year sentences
ALEXANDRA – Men get 18-year sentences for harrowing hijacking of Pretoria man.
Two men were each imprisoned for 18 years by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court for vehicle hijacking, kidnapping, unlawful use of a gun and robbing a Pretoria man of R400.
Philip Huma (41) of Garankuwa, Pretoria; and Daniel Baloyi (40) of 2nd Avenue, Alex were found guilty of the crimes committed against a man from Attridgeville on 4 August last year. They used Baloyi’s licensed gun to hijack the victim in his Toyota Avanza at a robot in Attridgeville at 6.30pm.
The victim was forced onto the floor of the front passenger seat and blindfolded before they drove away at high speed. The victim thought he was going to be killed when he heard them cocking a gun and speaking of getting rid of him. After driving for a while, he heard the car door open and a loud thump, and then the vehicle came to a stop. He was hauled out, the blindfold was removed and he was relieved to see it was the police.
The sound he heard was when one of the accused jumped out of the vehicle and its back wheel ran over his leg, breaking it.
Police had been alerted to the hijacking by the vehicle’s tracker system when the car had exited its controlled radius. The money was recovered.
