Man Raped Little Girl, Then Set Her On FIRE, She Begged: "Don't Kill Me"

A 9-year-old girl, raped and set on fire by an unidentified criminal, is currently fighting for life in the intensive care unit of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

The 27-year-old suspected should reportedly appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court today on charges of rape and attempted murder.

The girl’s grandmother wept yesterday as she told how she untied her grandchild, who was found lying on rocks on Sunday afternoon.

"I thought she was dead but she asked for water when she saw me. She was badly burned but she could speak. She told me that she had begged the man not to kill her but he strangled her, drenched her with fuel and set her alight. She said he laughed as she burned."

According to reports, the girl disappeared on the way to her father's place (parents not married) on Saturday night. 

A neighbour told the grandmother the following day that a child had been found in a nearby field.

Soon the heavily burned girl was discovered by her grandmother. The community apprehended a man who had bloodstains on his trousers and was wearing a burnt T-shirt.