MBOMBELA - A South African holiday cut short for traumatized CEO Sean Stephens, as he heads back into his Canadian offices in New Market.
The plan was to take his teenage children on a picturesque adventure filled with cultural wonders. But that quickly turned into a harrowing four-hour ordeal after bogus police officers pulled him over in Mbombela.
Stephens says he is battling to forget the nightmare that followed after the bogus officers became aggressive.
WATCH: Crime in SA | Crimes against tourists a growing problem
Stephens, his children, and a young friend of the family were squashed into the back of a Ford Ranger and driven to three towns as the attackers stopped at various ATMs before they all were set free in Masoyi.
Stephens says that although he feels the warmth of South Africa and its people, he won't return and fears for his mother, who continues with aid work in Mpumalanga.
Stephens says he lost an estimated $17,000 from ATM withdrawals and stolen goods.
He says police have been in touch with him since his return to Canada and assured him the perpetrators are being pursued vigorously.