Pig's head placed on shop roof to taunt owner

By Doreen Premdev

The trouble for Port Shepstone hardware shop owner Ismail Habib started when he found blood on the floor of his shop, which apparently dripped from a pig's head placed on the roof.

The blood had leaked through the extractor on the roof and spilled on to the floor.

Habib, the owner of Macdale Builders' Suppliers in Aiken Street, said his son, Faizal, was then gobsmacked when he tried to open the store last Friday, a week after the pig's head had been found.

"My son normally opens the shop at 7am. Our customers come in by 7.30am," Habib said.

"Faizal said the locks were glued and he could not open them. We had to cut the locks open with a bolt cutter.

"We had a look at the security surveillance camera and saw a businessman, Fred Carter, who operates a hardware store next door to my business, gluing the locks.

"It was around 7pm and Carter's face was clearly visible in the video. We handed the video to the police."

Faizal said within 15 minutes the police showed up at his business with Carter.

Carter, who owns On Tap Plumbing, admitted gluing the locks, police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Wiid said.

She said he was charged with malicious damage to property and had to pay a fine of R200.

Despite the incident, Habib and Carter maintained they were good neighbours and would remain cordial with each other.

Habib said he had started his business three years ago, while Carter was already operating in the area.

"We had no arguments or problems in the past," Habib said.

"We don't even have a fence between our shops. I thought we could trust each other.

"On the Friday, when Carter was brought in by the police, he pleaded with me to drop the charges, but I refused."

Habib said that for the past two weeks he had noticed strange things happening at his hardware shop.

"Two weeks ago we opened the store to find a pool of blood on the floor.

"We checked where the blood had come from and found a pig's head on the roof.

"Carter never denied having anything to do with this," Habib said.

In Islam pigs are considered haraam (Arabic word meaning forbidden).

Habib said he prayed to cleanse the store, but a week later Carter glued his locks.

"If Carter has a problem, he should come and talk to me about it.

"What he is doing is just immature and stupid," Habib said.

Carter said he regretted his actions and had apologised to Habib, but he denied having anything to do with the pig's head.

"On August 9, the door to my store was jammed. My staff had to break it open to enter," Carter said.

"I was so frustrated with this incident, I assumed Habib did it. This drove me to do what I did.

"I am ashamed of it, but I still consider Habib a good neighbour."

Source