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- The restaurant’s owner, Dishal Sooku, has been praised for his swift action to save a child.
- The girl had been the victim of an attempted kidnapping at the Sooku establishment in Johannesburg.
- Since then, a man allegedly involved has been charged with assault, attempted kidnapping and common battery.
Dishal Sooku, 38, became an overnight sensation when he thwarted the attempted kidnapping of a four-year-old girl from her restaurant on Thursday.
“I don’t consider myself a hero, I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said.
Sooku is the owner of Bella Napoli Italian Kitchen at Goldman Crossing in Florida, Roodepoort, and is also a fan of martial arts.
In a CCTV video of the incident, two women and a girl can be seen sitting at a table on the terrace of the restaurant.
Suddenly, a man jumps over the railing and throws himself at the boy.
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One of the women tries to grab the boy from the man’s grasp as Sooku throws him to the ground and holds him down with a powerful choke.
Humble
The attacker is then handed over to security officials.
The humble Sooku spoke to News24 on Tuesday and said he simply did what anyone in his position would have done.
“But my years of experience with martial arts prepared me to react the way I did,” he said.
The man who was seen grabbing the boy in the video was arrested and appeared in Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Monday.
Naseem Slamang was charged with assault to cause serious bodily harm, attempted kidnapping and common battery.
Slamang will remain in detention until his next appearance on September 17.
