‘Bone-breaking’ Lüderitz businessman denied bail for abusing wife

Well-known Lüderitz businessman Erasmus 'Poenie' Van Zyl was yesterday denied bail after he was arrested on Monday for allegedly physically abusing his wife and violating a restraining order.

He stands accused of assault, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, read with the Combatting of Domestic Violence Act.

Van Zyl, who owns Reich’s Pharmacy in the southern coastal town, was publicly accused by his sister-in-law Ria van der Schyff of abusing his wife, Elna.

In a social media post on 8 September, Van der Schyff accused Van Zyl of locking his wife out of their home, leaving her out in the cold, and severely beating her on various occasions - which led to broken bones in her right wrist.

According to Van der Schyff, she realised something was amiss with her sister when she refused to show her face during video calls.

"My mother and I make it a point to call my sister because we are the only family we have left and we realised that she was hiding her face when we would video call her.”

She told Namibian Sun: “My sister feared for her life and with the recent incident that led to her having to get surgery on her right wrist, she begged us not to make our knowledge of the abuse known to her husband”.

Promises of a good life

//Karas acting regional commander, Godfried Kauhanda, said Elna sought a restraining order against her husband last Friday because of continuous physical abuse.

“We issued a restraining order, but we could not find the husband so that we physically hand over the order to him. On Saturday, he went to the house and more abuse happened there, and that’s when the wife decided to open a criminal case against him on Sunday, resulting in the arrest on Monday,” he confirmed.

The couple tied the knot on 13 January, and according Van der Schyff, Van Zyl promised to give his wife a good life, but the abuse started shortly after the wedding.

"He said he hit her because she never received discipline and he felt it was his job to do it. He parades around during the day with Bible scriptures and at night he abuses his wife.

“If my sister did not speak up when she did, we would've lost her at the hands of that man," she said through tears.

Postponed

The State, represented by Leonard Mateus, opposed Van Zyl’s bail.

The prosecutor argued that he may re-offend and is a flight risk.

The charges he is facing are deemed serious and releasing him is not in the public interest, Mateus argued.

Van Zyl was represented by Peru Liebenberg. The case was postponed to 20 and 21 September for a formal bail hearing. Magistrate Mechtilde Shanghala presided.