A father suffered a gash to the forehead and his son broke his teeth in an early morning violent robbery that left the family in fear.
The Ram family of Waila-3A in Davuilevu Housing outside Suva were still in a state of shock when the The Fiji Times team visited them yesterday.
A devastated Mr Ram said the incident occurred about 3am.
He said he heard a loud noise from the back of the house.
When he went to check, he said he saw six masked men armed with a pinch bar, crowbar, iron rod and a knife trying to break through the back door.
"As soon as I saw them trying to break the door, I quickly ran to the bedroom to wake up my children and my wife so that we could shout for help," Mr Ram said.
He said they shouted for five minutes before they decided to run out the front door when there was no response.
"When I opened the front door, two masked men were already waiting outside. They entered the house with iron rods and started punching me and my 20-year-old son," he said.
"I suffered a deep gash on my forehead after being struck with a pinch bar while my son broke his teeth following a brawl with one of the robbers," he said.
Mr Ram said the robbers first destroyed the prayer room when they found no money before entering his bedroom.
"They asked my wife where she kept all the money. My wife said it was inside the till so they took the till which had more than $2000."
He said the men spoke in the iTaukei language and demanded jewellery.
He claimed the men also stole a laptop, $7000 worth of jewellery, mobile phones and fled in their car.
Mr Ram who operates an export business in Valelevu has called for frequent police patrols in the area.
"If frequent patrols were done, it would have been better. Robbers would have feared the police," the businessman said.
Meanwhile, Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Senior Superintendent of Police Vakacegu Toduadua said details on the progress of investigations would be released today.
SSP Toduadua said police had mobilised officers and investigators around the country to eliminate aggravated and violent robberies.
He said the CID and Ready Action Unit had teamed up to ensure the safety of the general public.
SSP Toduadua said violent crimes ranging from aggravated robbery, housebreaking and burglary had increased since the beginning of this year.