GREEN-EYED MONSTER ATTACKS DOC
Durban medic goes online to boast of clash that left wife’s friend with grave injuries
A DURBAN doctor is in hot water after allegedly attacking his wife and a friend in a jealous frenzy.
Yusuf Asmal, 39, allegedly rammed his car into a vehicle in which his wife, Nusrat Aboo, 23, and her friend Jamaine Roach, 26, were travelling.
While a dazed Roach was slumped over the steering wheel after his car came to a standstill upon colliding with a lamppost, Asmal allegedly assaulted him with a knuckle-duster.
Roach was taken by ambulance to Addington Hospital. Asmal, who worked at the hospital, allegedly attacked him again while Roach was having X-rays taken.
The doctor then sent a WhatsApp to his friends with a photograph of himself showing his bloodied right wrist.
He also bragged about the attack on Roach’s Instagram account, posting comments such as, “And to think it only took 2 punches to knock you out cold” and “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”.
Judge Shyam Gyanda of the High Court in Durban on Friday granted Roach an interim interdict preventing Asmal from assaulting, threatening or harassing him or his mother, Jayaleela Roach, or his sister, Candice, or communicating with them.
Asmal has until April 29 to file his answering affidavit.
In his 12-page affidavit, Roach says Asmal became suspicious of his relationship with Aboo about a month ago and tried to stop her from socialising with him.
Before dawn on March 28, Roach and Aboo were on their way to the Vapour Cafe in Morningside, where he was employed as a manager, when she asked him to drive off after noticing her husband’s car near the restaurant.
“[Asmal] followed me in his vehicle and as I turned into Venice Road, he rammed into my vehicle from behind at high speed. As I drove further, he continuously rammed into my vehicle until it collided with a lamppost and came to a standstill.” The car was written off. Roach describes how Asmal walked to the vehicle and shattered the windscreen by punching it with a knuckle-duster. The doctor then allegedly shattered the driver’s window, before punching Roach in the head and face with the knuckle-duster.
Roach received eight stitches on the back of his head and six to his right ear.
At Addington, Asmal allegedly stormed into the X-ray room and assaulted him again in front of the radiographer. “He said I was in his territory and he’s going to finish the job. He also swore at me,” says Roach.
Staff restrained the doctor and removed him from the premises.
Asmal had become infuriated when he saw a photograph on his wife’s cellphone of her kissing Roach on the cheek, the bodybuilder told the Sunday Times.
“As a doctor, assaulting a patient is a violation of the Hippocratic Oath . . . I was shocked by his behaviour and I now fear for my life.”
Aboo, who escaped with whiplash and bruises, confirmed Asmal had divorced her according to Islamic law before the attack, and then again hours after the incident, in the presence of her parents. He had told her “I divorce you” three times, as required, and also informed her in writing the marriage was over.
She denied that she and Roach were in a romantic relationship — they were “strictly friends”.
A complaint by Roach led to the matter being referred to Addington Hospital’s CEO, Mthetheleli Ndlangisa, said KwaZulu-Natal department of health ombudsman Mboneni Bhekiswayo.
Department spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said: “The health facility is a place for patients to get primary healthcare, not to be assaulted by any health practitioner. The department will not hesitate to take disciplinary action if the doctor is found guilty.”
A policeman at Berea police station confirmed he was investigating two counts of attempted murder against Asmal.
Asmal’s attorney, Asif Latib, said: “We don’t want to discuss these matters in the media.”
In 2008, Asmal reportedly apologised to fraudster Schabir Shaik for repeatedly claiming his illhealth was a sham.
❛ He said I was in his territory at the hospital and he’s going to finish the job
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