Tow-truck driver charged with assault:
Tow-truck driver charged – but says he is innocent
ASSAULT allegations have landed a man in court for being “nothing more than a bystander” when his former boss allegedly paid two men to rough up a man working for a rival tow-truck company, he says. Wayne Russouw, 28, a former employee of V&R Auto, is facing assault charges and claims he has been threatened with violence for doing nothing more than what his boss ordered him to do.
“I never laid a hand on anyone, but suddenly everyone is pointing fingers at me,” Russouw said outside court.
He was charged for an incident in October when Precision Tow-in Services employee Ryno “Vlooi” Barnard was dragged from his vehicle and assaulted by two men in Kragga Kamma Road.
The handbrake on Barnard’s vehicle was also disengaged, causing it to run into a nearby tree.
This occurred hours after the owner of V&R, Raven Rungan, had posted threatening messages on Facebook.
“I think it’s time to let this small town f**ks know what towing is all about – and then we go to EL, and start all over again,” Rungan wrote.
“Mr RR is coming for you soon . . . very soon. And chirp me if you have the balls!!! “EL and PE and both of you!” Outside court after his appearance Russouw – who worked for V&R Auto from 2012 to December last year – admitted to being on the scene, but said he did not understand why he had been charged. He said Rungan had asked him to pick up two men from the airport the day before the incident and take them to a Humewood hotel.
“I picked up two very big guys at the airport around 7.30pm. The one called himself ChingChing, and they did not say much. I dropped them at the hotel and went home.
“The next day, Raven told me to fetch them and just drive around until he could meet us at the office. That was when I was called to the Kragga Kamma Road accident,” he said.
Russouw’s colleague told him there was an argument with Precision employees and he had to come and help. After speaking with Barnard, he went to his colleague on the scene.
That is when the two large men jumped out of Russouw’s vehicle and assaulted Barnard.
“I was on the phone with an insurance broker, regarding the accident, when I heard the commotion. I turned around and saw these guys attacking Vlooi,” Russouw said.
“I immediately jumped back into my vehicle and drove off, not wanting any part it.”
He drove off without the two men. Hours later he received a call from Rungan, telling him to pick up the two men again. He had to withdraw R2 000 from V&R’s account, give it to the two men, and drop them off at the airport again.
“I never saw those men again. When I got back to the office, Rungan just said he would teach them all a lesson. I left V&R shortly after that.”
Since leaving, he had been contacted by other tow service employees, and even some of his former colleagues, threatening to assault him if they ever found him, or if he tried to hurt them.
Russouw said he was completely surprised when the police contacted him last week, telling him to come to the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court to face assault charges.
“I never heard from the police after the incident and no one ever came to see me about it.
“I have never been questioned. I do not know what evidence they could possibly have against me,” Russouw said.
After a brief appearance before magistrate Jan Steenkamp, his case was postponed to July 21.
When contacted by The Herald, Barnard said he did not have any details on the case.
Rungan’s legal representative, Kuban Chetty, said his client did not have any knowledge of the case and therefore did not wish to comment.