Cape Town - The family of a missing Mitchells Plain man made a grim discovery when they found him in the boot of his car, bound and murdered.
The Beacon Valley man, Ridaah Sasman, 30, vanished on Friday after he told his family he was going to drop someone off.
His hands and feet were bound and he was undressed.
He left his home at about 1am that morning to drop off someone in Lentegeur. A few hours later, his family received a peculiar text message from his number asking for money.
Sasman’s sister, Nazreen Sasman, told the Cape Argus “We were suspicious because he never wrote texts, instead he would send voice notes, and even if he did, he wouldn’t write words in full.
“That is how we knew we were not dealing with him. The message was asking for R2 000. He said he was stuck in Philippi and needed a tow truck,” she said.
The father of three didn’t contact his family after that. His sister said that on Saturday, they found the shoes Ridaah was wearing at the time of his disappearance.
“We heard someone was selling the shoes and we asked him where he got them, and went to the house he directed us to. When we got there, we saw his car parked behind locked gates, and we forced our way in,” Nazreen said.
“What was baffling was the rope which was used to secure the boot, and we told the police who were there, but they left without doing anything.
“My brothers had to find a way of opening the boot. We found Ridaah, he was covered with a blanket, his hands and feet were bound, and he was left in his underwear. His clothes were reportedly burned.
“His body was still warm when we found him, which indicated that he was killed yesterday morning, and we are angry about the police leaving because he could have still been alive,” she said.
Sasman’s heartbroken sister said he was too trusting.
“He could have met with people and let his guard down. He was very sweet and down to earth. We are very distraught about the incident, and would like to thank all the social media groups that helped us look for my brother,” she said.
Lentegeur CPF chairperson Byron de Villiers said the CPF was concerned about the incident.
“He was most probably in captivity for the days he was not found by his family. We applaud the community for their vigilance. With their information, the SAPS were able to find the car and the deceased,” he said.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said Lentegeur SAPS registered a murder case after the body was found in the boot of a vehicle in Sunset Street, Morgan Village, Mitchells Plain on Sunday morning.
“The victim was found with his hands and feet tied up. He was declared deceased at the scene by medical personnel. The circumstances surrounding the incident are the subject of a police investigation. The suspects have yet to be arrested.”
Anyone with any information is requested to contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111.