A home owner in Berea acted swiftly when a robber armed with a knife broke into her house.
The incident took place before 5 pm on Monday.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “It is alleged that the woman was at her residence on Ferndale Road when an unknown man broke the kitchen door and entered the house armed with a knife. The victim poured boiling water over the suspect as she screamed for help."
According to Netshiunda, the suspect ran to the front lawn in agony and died from his injuries shortly after.
Berea police are investigating charges of attempted robbery and an inquest.
This incident is one of several recent home invasions that ended violently. In December, another home intruder was shot dead in Umgeni Park north of Durban.
Kyle van Reenan, from Emer-G-Med Paramedics, explained that they responded to reports of a shooting at a residential premises in Ridgeside Road just after 10:30 pm.
"On arrival at the scene, a male, believed to be approximately 30 years of age, was found to have sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead on arrival of paramedics. Reports from the scene alleged the man to have been a suspect in a house robbery at the premises. However, the circumstances surrounding the incident and the events preceding it are unclear and will form the subject of a South African Police Service investigation."
IOL News