"I am very sad, desperate. We are going through hell," he says, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief and apologising for the uncharacteristic show of emotion.
He gives a false name, Tyson, fearing persecution by drug dealers doing swift business in his suburb of Kraaifontein in CapeTown.
His son, 19, has been using crystal meth, known colloquially as "tik", for two years and failed at numerous rehabilitation attempts.
The sporty, studious and dependable youngster has become a paranoid and gaunt loner who failed two final school year subjects, had run-ins with the law, and has stolen just about every item that can be sold from his home.
Living with him has become unbearable, says Tyson (46) who works as a driver to eke out a middle-class existence.
"He has driven me to the edge of financial ruin," the father told Agence France-Presse. "He has stolen shoes, clothes, cellphones and cameras from us [his parents and siblings], even meat from the fridge and jars of coffee."
And rehabilitation costs money too.
Grant Jardine, director of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said tik was fast becoming the favoured drug of young people, being comparatively cheap and accessible.
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