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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Caged snake-handler with 40 poison snakes robbed at gunpoint during Guiness world record attempt in SAfrica
23:33 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
Mad Martin Smit was 'much more terrified of those armed robbers than the 40 poisonous African snakes he's been living with for the past 85 days... he said.
Sep 7 2008 HARTBEESPOORT, South Africa. Snake-handler Martin Smit -- who tries to set a Guiness world-record by spending at least 110 days with 40 poisonous African snakes inside a large snake-pen -- yesterday could only stand and watch helplessly -- snakes were crawling across his feet -- while three armed attackers held up the snakepark's Dutch owner at gunpoint.
The three black gunmen absconded with some R50,000 in donations intended among others for the Save-A-Child foundation. Mad Martin's publicity stunt had collected these donations after 85 days inside the cage with 40 poisonous mambas, boomslangs, cobras and puff-adders.
http://www.madmartin.co.za/
Smit - fondly described as Mad Martin Smit - was standing inside the cage window chatting to park owner Hennie Jonk of the Chameleon Village Snake and Animal Park.
Jonker pursued robbers with his handgun...
Suddenly three unknown black men appeared at the snake centre's door and Jonk walked to the front of the cage and asked the men what they wanted there. "One immediately shouted to 'stand back or he'd shoot me dead'. I went back to where Martin was still standing at the window with the snakes.'said Jonk. "The men then grabbed the money-containers of charity-money and ran off.'
Jonk set off in hot pursuit with his handgun. "Outside the snake park one of them turned around and shot towards me, and I shot back,' he said. Nobody was injured and the gang fled on foot. The Brits police were called.
The gangsters probably don't know it yet - but they might just become famous: the snake-cage is monitored 24/7 by web camera.Police hope that the three men can be identified from the videos, which they hope to view soon.
http://www.madmartin.co.za/album.htm
Smit still has to spend another 25 days inside the cage - with mambas, boomslangs, cobras and puff-adders -- to break the world-record. It's a terrifying task: one of these snakes carries the ominous name of 'grumpy', because he's infamous for his bad temper displays towards visitors.
http://www.saveachild.co.za/
"The idea was to publicise the animal park while also trying to set the new Guiness record, and to also collect funds for Save-A-Child and an extention for the park. "We estimated that we had collected about R50,000. Who could ever have dreamt that a place full of poisonous snakes would ever be targetted by armed robbers?' he asked.
"I have already had some close calls with the snakes these past 85 days, but I have never been as scared as I was during that robbery,' he said - gently lifting a green mamba from his feet and placing it on a plant nearby. It wasn't Grumpy.
Tel park: (012) 253 1451, Fax: (012) 253 1462, PO Box 3240, Cramerview 2060 Hartbeespoort South Africa
Email: james@chameleonvillage.co.za
James Crooks tel 072 3267125
http://www.news24.com/Beeld/Suid-Afrika/0,,3-975_2389815,00.html
40 households a day attacked by murder-gangs in South Africa - report:
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2008/09/40-households-day-attacked-by-armed.html
