Soapie extra arrested for abuse

Pretoria - An actor who appeared as an extra in the soapie Backstage, will be appearing in court soon after he allegedly assaulted his wife by beating her in the face with a firearm, among other things.

The 33-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday morning, after he sped away from security guards at an estate in the east of Pretoria, and tried to get away when they eventually caught him.

He was then admitted to a local hospital under police guard, due to injuries he sustained during his arrest.

Domestic violence

Police spokesperson Marinda Stoltz said on Thursday that the actor, whose name cannot be mentioned until he has appeared in court, allegedly assaulted his wife two weeks ago in their house at the Mooikloof estate.

Besides the allegation that he hit her in the face with a firearm, he apparently also threatened to shoot her.

A complaint of domestic violence and aiming a firearm was submitted to the police, upon which a warrant for his arrest was issued for the illegal possession of a firearm.

He managed to evade the police for two weeks. The police told the security guards at the complex to be on the look-out for a specific car. The guards spotted this vehicle on Wednesday morning and followed him.

The guards and the actor raced down Garsfontein Road. The actor stopped near a high school in this street, jumped out of his car and ran away. The security guards chased after him and arrested him after a struggle, said Stoltz.