Beeld newspaper reported, a taxi-driver saw a friend of the family dragging the khaki-clad dummy, affectionately known as "Oom Koos", across a veld and thought it was a lifeless body.

About 15 minutes later, a large group of people arrived from a nearby informal settlement, demanding to know the whereabouts of "the man who had been beaten to death", Andre Wiltz told the newspaper.

The taxi driver then arrived accompanied by the police, who began searching the Wiltz's property in Andeon for traces of blood or a corpse.

The police's tactical reaction and K9 units, and officers from two police stations spent four hours searching in vain.

"Oom Koos looks genuine, especially in the dark," said Wiltz.

He told the newspaper the family had made the dummy to guard the property after a spate of burglaries.

They usually placed it in their garden, or in a car in the driveway, but from now on it would be restricted to the front stoep.

"I won't be putting him in the yard, because it turned into one hell of a thing," said Wiltz.