Johannesburg - A 66-year-old man's ear was severed by four criminals during a robbery at his lodge in Cullinan, Pretoria police said on Wednesday.
His son-in-law was shot and wounded when he chased the robbers in his car, police spokesperson Johannes Jafta said.
The 66-year-old man was sitting with his two employees at the lodge on Saturday evening when he heard the dogs bark and went out to investigate.
Outside, the man was confronted by two armed men who took him back into the lodge, tied him up and assaulted him.
His 56-year-old wife arrived a while later at the lodge and was also tied up and assaulted.
Ransacked
The four accomplices then demanded the keys to the safe from the lodge owner and when the man refused, the robbers cut one of his ears with an unknown object.
They then ransacked the lodge and stole appliances and cellphones and sped off.
The lodge owner phoned his son-in-law, who is in his 30s, who responded and spotted a white Volkswagen Jetta with four occupants near the lodge.
The son-in-law gave chase and drove into the Jetta, causing one of its doors to fall off.
The robbers retaliated by firing shots at the man, wounding him in the lower abdomen.
The owner, his wife and the employees were treated in hospital before being discharged. He received stitches for the cut in his ear.
The son-in-law was still in hospital.
The four men were still at large and police called on anyone with information on the robbery to call Captain Tselana on 082 8227014.
