Assault victim 'in bad state'

PATRICK Moeng was beaten to a pulp on Saturday night - just weeks after his girlfriend's son was found dead

Moeng had attended a party in Moruleng, North West, and on his way home was confronted by a small group of people who then assaulted him.

This came only weeks after Oretshwanetse Fikeng, 6, was reported missing and later found dead. His body was found near his family home in May.

Moeng's sister Maleshwane Chemule said her 39-year-old brother was in a "very bad condition" in hospital.

"I was told that my brother was found lying on the street injured. He had been beaten up and his mouth tied with a cloth.

"We found two small sticks in his mouth and my feeling is that whoever assaulted him thought he was dead and performed a traditional ritual on him so they wouldn't be found," Chemule said.

Moeng, who is reportedly making steady progress at Job Shimankana Hospital, allegedly pointed a finger at one of Fikeng's relatives, whose name is known to Sowetan.

"He could not speak but I think he was conscious. The police said when they asked him who had attacked him, he wrote down that man's name," Chemule said.

But the man denied any involvement in Moeng's assault. "I was not involved and I don't know anything about that," he said yesterday.

Asked about his whereabouts on Saturday evening, he said: "I was with my children and not even anywhere close to where the attack took place," he said.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lesego Metsi said a case of attempted murder had been opened and they expected to make arrests soon.