‘I didn’t cry, or it would get worse’

“I TOLD them if you’re going to kill me, do it one time.”

That was Durban resident Marta Rubilar, who was abducted by hijackers outside her work in Powell Road, Morningside, early yesterday morning.

News of her abduction about 7.40am in the side lane off Umgeni Road spread quickly across WhatsApp groups. This was intensified when a video of her abduction by three armed men was released on social media.

In the clip, Rubilar is seen parking and getting out of her Polo, while the men emerge from another Polo parked slightly in front of her on the road.

They grab Rubilar and bundle her into her vehicle. One assailant pushes her in and jumps into the back after her, while another gets into the driver’s seat, and the third gets back into their vehicle, carrying her handbag.

The two vehicles leave the scene with the back door of the hijacked vehicle still slightly open.

Speaking yesterday after she had safely returned to work, Rubilar shared the details.

“They came towards me and took my keys and my bag. I saw the gun pointing at me, I couldn’t see anything else. They pushed me into my car and one person pushed my head down and covered my face.

“I knew I had to stay calm. I didn’t cry or it would just get worse.”

She was later released and managed to flag down a car and was taken to the police station where she laid a charge.

A colleague had been sitting on a wall as the hijacking unfolded and ran inside shouting to raise the alarm.