Woman’s traumatic ordeal sheds light on police incompetence

AFTER she was assaulted and left traumatised following an attempted armed hijacking at the intersection of Anderson and Josiah Gumede Road recently, a mother of two was allegedly shirked off from one Highway police station to the next by uncaring police officers as she attempted to open a case.

“I am still in shock. Sometimes I am fine and at other times, when there are loud noises – even the dog barking – sets me off,” she said.

“I just want people to be aware of these things, especially when driving alone,” said Santie Bezuidenhout.

Bezuidenhout was on her way home from Pinecrest Mall on Sunday, 13 September.

ALSO READ: Mother of two fights off armed hijackers in Pinetown

Her car was hot so, after inserting her ticket at the boom gate, she exited the mall and rolled up her window, leaving a small gap to allow for a cool breeze to enter the car.

She was the first car in line at the set of traffic lights at the intersection.

“There was a man standing on my left hand passenger side and he was pointing at my front tyre as if to say there was something wrong with it. The next thing I knew there was a gun pointed at me through the window. He put his hand into the gap and pushed my window down. The gun was now against my head,” said Bezuidenhout.

The armed man said he wanted her car and tried to pull the key from the ignition.

ALSO READ: Pinetown man on the road to recovery after brutal stabbing

“I fought him off. A second man then placed a cloth over my face and I bit him. I heard someone shout ‘stab her’ so I threw my cellphone out of the window,” she said.

The two men at the driver’s window raced for the phone.

She then fled the scene in her vehcile.

She said her arms were covered in bruises and her neck was hurt during the assault.

Kloof SAPS:

She mustered up the courage to visit the Kloof Police Station and was turned away by an officer.

“I was told that the crime didn’t happen in the area, so I needed to go to Pinetown SAPS to open up a case. You can imagine why I didn’t want to go back into the area. But I did,” she said. 

Pinetown Cluster communications officer, Capt Bongumusa Manqele said that a case can be reported at any police station and, if the incident took place outside the area when it is being reported, the docket will be transferred to the station where the incident took place.

ALSO READ: Alleged taxi hit-men arrested for Mariannhill taxi boss killing

“When a civilian is turned away at the police station, it is important to take down the name of the police officer and the date when he/she was not assisted by police in opening a case. All police officers are trained to open cases. A person who has been a victim of the carjacking or attempted carjacking should be offered trauma counselling,” he said.

Pinetown SAPS:

With her husband and two children in the car, Bezuidenhout made her way into the Pinetown station and waited in a queue.

“I was seen to by a female officer. She asked me if anything was stolen. I said no as I was the one who chucked my phone out the window. The officer looked at me and said that if nothing was stolen, then I should wait until after the shift change at 6pm to open a case. The police should be there to investigate crimes. To do something about it, not to worry what I have lost. That phone was my only phone but in time it can be replaced. A person’s life is more important and they need to secure that areas,” said Bezuidenhout.

Shocked by the uncaring attitude, and not wanting to wait around to be seen to while her family sat in the car, she left the station without opening a case.

“The officers were not supposed to tell the civilian to wait until 6pm. The case was supposed to be opened immediately. When we conduct awareness campaigns, we always encourage the public to report crime to the police, but some of our officers are letting us down. We apologise for what happened to the victim and she is advised to report the conduct of our members to the station commander,” said Manqele.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting