A six-year-old boy had his genitals cut off and was left to die in a ditch in a sick attack.
The terribly injured boy was laid covered in blood in a scrubland when local residents who were chasing down two criminals heard the boy crying out for help in South Africa.
Looking for the source of the wound the local residents thought the boy would have been stabbed, but were horrified to discover that the schoolboy was castrated.
His condition was close to death from loss of blood when he was found on a rough wasteland near a gold mine at the Blue Skye informal settlement.
Local residents were outraged when hearing the news of the sick attack which spread through the town of Boksburg in Gauteng Province and brought terror to parents.
One resident who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisals said: “Who would do such a thing to such a little boy – it really is the cruellest of the cruel.
“To pepper spray the little boy is bad enough but to cut off his genitals is just barbaric and that kid will have mental issues for the rest of his life.
“I know the boy and he is often around looking for a bit of food or a bit of loose change and he gets by and is always smiling and is always polite.
“He was found in an overgrown field with his genitals missing and unable to see properly due to the pepper spray which is dreadfully painful on its own.”
Another resident named Chantel Naude said: ”I am considering moving out of the area as we feel unsafe as I have boys as well and don’t want them attacked as well."
Another said: “The rumours are that it is Satanism or taking body parts for a voodoo ritual but this little boy will now not be able to have children ever.”
Boksburg South African Police station commander Colonel Matshidiso Mbele Confirmed the police are investigating a case of attempted murder.
However, she refused to comment on the boys' horrific injuries due to the nature of them.
She said it was unknown as yet if it was adults or an older child who attacked him.
Colonel Mbele said the attack happened on March 1 and paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital.
The six-year-old boy is now said to be in a stable condition.
