The Sunshine Coast Daily reported the family fought off the poor would-be masked gunmen with their own weapons. The newspaper said former East Rand businessman Theo Nel, 42, and his father-in-law Kobus Delport, 68, an ex-South African policeman, disarmed one alleged gunman and then the other when confronted before battering both with their own weapons.
The Johannesburg rag Beeld, in their account, said Delport was the former head of the security police’s Springs branch.
Nel told the newspaper that this was one of the first home invasions ever in Queensland, and that journalists had camped on the family’s lawn for two days to get the story. Poor sods.
The two burglars, who were masked, were said to be armed with automatic rifles when they stormed into Nel’s home in the suburb of Noonan. They took Nel to the study to fetch his wallet while his daughter and dog were hiding in a cupboard.
It was there that he and his father-in-law overpowered and disarmed the men.
Delport broke one of the rifles on one of the burglar’s head, while Nel broke his knobkerrie beating the other man.
“There was one hell of a fight, but we hammered them. I just wanted to protect my family,” Nel said.
