A prisoner ripped a metal condom dispenser from a wall and used it as a weapon to fend off five inmates who were attacking a convicted axe murderer.
Henri van Breda, a millionaire’s son who hacked his South African parents and brother to death in a frenzied axe attack, escaped serious injury after being rescued in the nick of time by a fellow hospital section inmate at Pollsmoor Prison.
The convicted triple murderer was attacked by five inmates while making his way back to the hospital section of the Cape Town jail earlier this week.
Henri van Breda, the son of a millionaire property tycoon, was convicted for hacking his parents and brother to death with an axe, and has been injured in prison
Henri van Breda, 23, (top left) was left shaken after being attacked by five inmates while awaiting sentencing at South Africa’s Pollsmoor Prison (Pictured are Martin Van Breda, right, wife Teresa, and eldest son Rudi, centre, and Marli, left)
Van Breda claimed his brother Rudi, 21, and parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, were killed by a masked intruder with an axe, who also wounded his sister Marli, then aged 15
However the respite was shortlived when the attackers turned on Van Breda for a second time, chasing him and his rescuer back to the hospital section where they managed to slam a security door in their faces.
The former Perth schoolboy was last month found guilty of three counts of murder, after hacking his father, mother and brother to death with an axe, and is behind bars awaiting a sentencing hearing set for June 5.
Van Breda was accosted on a stairwell while walking back to his cell following a visit by his uncle Andre du Toit and his girlfriend Danielle Janse van Rensberg.
He is being held in the hospital section as he is on medication for epilepsy and depression. The murderer was unescorted at the time and carrying a bag of food that he had received during his visit.
‘Henri said his attackers knew who he was and he got the impression they were targeting him,’ said advocate Pieter Botha
‘Henri said [his attack] was a terrifying, horrible experience,’ said Van Breda’s attorney Lorinda van Niekerk after visiting the murderer on Friday morning. ‘But he is coping well after being counselled by nursing staff.’
Pollsmoor Prison, located 22km outside of Cape Town, is notorious for overcrowding, poor health conditions, gang violence and rape. Conditions there were recently described as ‘profoundly disturbing’ by a constitutional judge.
And two years ago human rights groups challenged the prison’s life threatening conditions after two inmates died during an outbreak of leptospirosis, a disease spread by rats’ urine, which resulted in the prison being partially evacuated.
‘Henri said his attackers knew who he was and he got the impression they were targeting him,’ said advocate Pieter Botha who accompanied Van Breda’s attorney to Pollsmoor on Friday.
‘They wanted to search his bag and when he resisted they started pushing him against the wall,’ Botha added. ‘One inmate grabbed him by the throat and another stomped on his foot. A struggle ensued.
Van Breda is ‘coping reasonably well’ since being held in Pollsmoor following his May 21 conviction for murdering his mother, father and bother with the family braai axe and attempting to murder his sister at their Stellenbosch golf estate home in 2015
Marli van Breda, who survived a severed jugular but was unable to testify against her brother due to memory loss
‘Then one of his fellow hospital section inmates came into to the stairwell, saw what was happening and ripped a metal condom dispenser off the wall and chased Henri’s attackers.
‘After the thwarted attack Henri and his rescuer ran back to the hospital section with the five attackers in hot pursuit.
‘They ran through a metal door and Henri’s rescuer managed to hold it shut while Henri ran to get assistance. At first he could only find two female administrative workers who alerted warders who arrived on the scene a few minutes later.
‘Henri escaped with a few scratches and bruises on his body and an injured foot. He was treated that day buy a nurse and seen by a Pollsmoor doctor the next day who confirmed that Henri’s foot was not broken. Henri was never transferred to any hospital.’
Van Breda told Botha that the attack was ‘a shocking ordeal’ that came out of the blue.
‘He’s convinced the outcome would have been far worse were it not for the assistance of his condom dispenser wielding rescuer,’ said Botha. ‘He told me his attackers were intent on harming him. Robbery was not their only motive. They knew exactly who he was.
‘It’s worrying for me because this is what I expected. Because of his notoriety Henri is a target in prison. It remains a big concern.’
Botha confirmed his client was ‘very shaken up’ by the surprise attack, ‘but he is now in reasonably good spirits. I didn’t get the impression that he is in fear of his life. But if he were moved to the general population section he would fear for his life. There’s no doubt in my mind that then he will be targeted.’
He said that Van Breda was ‘completely taken aback when told that newspapers were reporting that he had attempted suicide. That was the first he had heard of it. Apparently that tip came form an inmate who called a reporter during the week.’
Judge Siraj Desai is expected to hand down multiple life sentences to Van Breda who he described as an ‘unimpressive’ witness who displayed ‘a peculiar lack of empathy’ after the horrific and brutal axe killings
Van Breda is ‘coping reasonably well’ since being held in Pollsmoor following his May 21 conviction for murdering his mother, father and bother with the family braai axe and attempting to murder his sister at their Stellenbosch golf estate home in 2015.
‘He feels safer now that he is accompanied by a prison warder whenever he leaves the hospital section. He is being visited regularly by his uncle and his girlfriend and they are keeping his spirits up.’
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo described reports of Henri van Breda’s attempted suicide as ‘fake news’.
‘A journalist fabricated that story from an anonymous call,’ he said.
He also denied that Van Breda had been attacked. ‘He is in the hospital wing. Who is going to attack him there?’
Van Breda, 23, returns to the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday for sentencing. Judge Siraj Desai is expected to hand down multiple life sentences to Van Breda who he described as an ‘unimpressive’ witness who displayed ‘a peculiar lack of empathy’ after the horrific and brutal axe killings.