mrselfdestrukt's Journal: News Flash: Boy's face beaten to a pulp by cellphone thief.

Boy's face beaten to a pulp by cellphone thief
11/01/2006 22:47 - (SA)

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Pretoria - A teenager from Rooihuiskraal in Centurion could be identified only by his hair and hands after his face was beaten to a pulp by a thief who stole his new cellphone.

As other Grade 10s started the new school year on Wednesday, Frans Pelzer, 16, had to undergo surgery to staunch a brain haemorrhage after being assaulted on Monday afternoon about a kilometre from his parent's house.

Only his Christmas present, the cellphone, was stolen.

Frans was still unconscious in the intensive-care unit of Unitas Hospital in Centurion on Wednesday.

Jan Nel, Frans's stepfather, said they started searching for him on Monday evening when he didn't return home.

"We reported him missing at the police station. The police officers showed us a photograph of someone who had been found in the bushes in Rooihuiskraal.

Frans's parents rushed to Pretoria Academic Hospital and identified him just before he was sent for scanning.

Nel said: "We waited for an ambulance and arrived at Unitas Hospital only about 01:30 on Wednesday. They had to stabilise Frans before they could start operating to stop the bleeding."

Nel said all of Frans's facial bones above the jawbone had been broken.

He would have to undergo several operations to repair his sinuses and remove bones from his brain. He also will have to have reconstructive surgery on his face.