A Cape Town businessman died after intruders broke into his home while he and his family were asleep and assaulted him.
|||Cape Town -
A businessman from Cravenby died after intruders broke into his home while he and his family were asleep and assaulted him.
As a partner with his brother in Giant Hyperstores and owner of Sweets for Africa, 59-year-old Allie Parker was well-known in the business community of Epping.
Early on Thursday, five armed men removed a pane of glass and unscrewed the burglar bars at the Parker family home in Miracle Street in Cravenby.
Asleep inside was Parker, his wife and three of their sons.
Yusuf Parker, one of the sons, spoke to the Cape Argus while over 100 mourners held a vigil outside the home on Thursday.
“I woke up, a man was pinning me down to the bed with his knees. I struggled, but a second man told me that he would kill me if I screamed. They used my cellphone charger to tie my hands,” he said.
Yusuf was taken to his parents’ bedroom, and made to lie on the floor next to his brothers while his parents were tied up on the bed. The room had been ransacked.
Blindfolded with a piece of clothing, Yusuf heard how the men beat his father, all the time asking for money.
Parker asked the men not to harm his family and to take what they wanted.
“Somehow they had the idea that there was a lot of cash stashed somewhere. This wasn’t the case, but they refused to believe my dad when he said so,” said Yusuf.
After the assailants fled the house, Parker rang his brother for help shortly before dying.
The cause of his death has not yet been established, but the family suspects that he may have had a heart attack or died from the trauma of his injuries.
On Thursday afternoon, Parker was laid to rest according to Muslim rites.
“There will never be another Allie,” Parker’s cousin, F Begum-Parker, told the Cape Argus. “He was the most kind, gentle and humble person. Always helpful, no matter who you were, whether he knew you or not. When surrounded by children, he was like a child. When surrounded by adults, he was the kind of character that everyone could admire.”
Many of the mourners had complimentary anecdotes about Parker. Apparently there were customers so loyal to him that they refused to buy from Sweets for Africa if “Dada” (as Parker was known) was not there.
“They would become glum and said ‘we’ll come back later’,” said Begum-Parker.
Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that a case of house robbery had been opened.
daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za
Cape Argus