19-year-old Kyle Appollis lost his eye after he was stabbed allegedly by his client who demanded money from him. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town - A young man who specialises in modifying cars has been left disfigured after he was stabbed in the eye, allegedly by a client.
Kyle Appollis, 19, was attacked in Strandfontein as he was modifying a car on October 13.
He spent five days in hospital where his left eye had to be removed after the brutal attack.
Appollis said: “The client contacted me and said his car almost burnt while on the road, due to sound wires I had fitted for him.
“He said it caused the rear of his car to burn. I said I would check and see if I could fix it, and I didn’t hear from him for a few days.
“He came to me with three of his friends, I was home alone and I could see that they were drunk.”
Appollis said the client asked for a refund for the work done on his car.
“They demanded a R1500 refund for my ‘negligence’ but I had not touched the wiring. I was willing to refund him because I didn’t want anything to happen.
“The suspect put his arm around my neck and all his friends started attacking me.”
The victim said one of the attackers hit him with a glass bottle.
“One of the client’s friends went into the car and came back with a glass bottle which he broke on my back. He then stabbed me, with it, in my eye. The bottle was a centimetre away from my brain.
“My neighbour fired three warning shots and Law Enforcement officers drove by and stopped them. I was rushed to hospital and discharged on October 18.”
The suspects were arrested and were each released on R1000 bail.
“I told them to wait until I was paid for the car I was working on but they couldn’t wait for an hour.
“They could have waited for an hour.
“ I’m scarred for the rest of my life and they are walking freely.”
His mom Lee-Ann Appollis said her son will not have a normal life again.
“How can you live a normal life knowing that they did this?
“We are not going to leave it like this, It’s a major setback. He started hustling at the age of 14, my son is well-known in the province. People have been coming to us and supporting him.”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said an assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm case was registered at Strandfontein SAPS for investigation.
“The next court date is on November 24. Four suspects were arrested. The Court will decide on any other charges.”
Anyone with any information about this incident is kindly requested to contact the investigating officer Detective Sergeant N Abrahams at 021 370 1590 / 13.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za
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