Jealous boyfriend faces attempted murder charges following flat fire incident in Heideveld
Accused Imeraan Lemmert, 28, allegedly threw petrol on his girlfriend and the other occupants of the flat.
Image: Kim Swartz
The man accused of attempting to burn his girlfriend and 16 others alive in a Heideveld flat over the weekend appeared in Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, facing charges of attempted murder.
Imeraan Lemmert, 28, allegedly threw petrol on his girlfriend and the other occupants of the flat.
The situation escalated when one of the men lit a cigarette, igniting the petrol and causing a fire. Lemmert reportedly fled the scene after locking the security gate and discarding the keys, leaving the victims trapped inside.
His girlfriend, whose name is known to the Cape Argus sister publication, Daily Voice, previously said that they had an argument after he accused her of sleeping with one of their friends.
The girlfriend, who was in the flat alongside 10 other adults and five children, explained that she was sober at the time and felt he was looking for a fight, insisting that what he was accusing her of was untrue.
State Prosecutor Nurhan Toefy told the court: “On November 22, at 12.30pm, the accused came into a room, the incident seemed to have happened in a flat in Heideveld and he complained about the noise.
“Witnesses indicated that he left the room and came back and then sprayed petrol on all of the occupants in the room. It is not clear how the fire started, but three of the victims were badly burnt as a result of the actions of the accused.”
Lemmert chose to conduct his own defence and will appeal for bail on December 2.
In total, 11 adults and five children managed to escape the blaze after they jumped out of a window.
One of the victims, Dillon Malan, is currently at Mitchells Plain Hospital after sustaining injuries to his arm.
Malan explained: “We were aware of the petrol that he threw, and the guy who lit a cigarette thought it was paraffin and he’s currently at Tygerberg Hospital in a critical state.”
Dillion Malan sustained burns wounds.
Image: Supplied
He added that Lemmert was angry at him because he assumed that he was having an affair with his girlfriend.
One of the community members said outside of court that she was pleased that more charges were added as justice needs to prevail.
She said: “Everyone deserves justice as there is one guy that is fighting for his life in hospital and another that is in a lot of pain which is not right.
“Maybe this will teach him a lesson also for future instances.”
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