‘Mother of missing child was not at Wimpy’ – says owner
The owner of Wimpy says the bad publicity has put her restaurant in a bad light
AFTER reading an article detailing how a 10-year old had gone missing from Wimpy, the owner of the restaurant, Cathrine Snyman, contacted EXPRESS to set the record straight.
In the article published online, Norkem Park SAPS spokesman, Capt Lesibana Molokomme, said the 10-year-old girl had been reported missing from Wimpy at the shopping centre on the corner of Strydom Street and Mooifontein Road, Birchleigh North, on Sunday, October 11 at about 8pm.
Also read:
• Mother believes her missing child was drugged
• Those going missing are mainly under 30
“The little girl was playing at our play area unsupervised after hours. Our restaurant closes at 4pm on Sundays. Her mother was not at Wimpy, she is not our client,” explained Snyman.
The girl was found the following morning.
According to Molokomme, the mother claimed she was having drinks with friends at the shopping complex, while her daughter was playing with other kids at the Wimpy play area before she went missing.
The restaurant owner said the mother of the child was not at Wimpy but was sitting near the library enjoying drinks with friends while the child wandered off to play at their premises.
“This bad publicity is putting my restaurant in a bad light,” pointed out Snyman.
Snyman said they had done all they could to assist the CPF and police in their quest to find the missing child.
“At around 1am we were contacted by the police and CPF who wanted us to open the shop so they could view the footage from before the child went missing. There was no sign of the child on the footage,” she explained.
In light of the incident, Snyman said it was vital that parents kept an eye on their children at all times.
“We cannot be held responsible for children playing in our play area. We do not have child minders. Parents know their kids are welcome to play in the play area, but they must be responsible and watch them,” she said.
“We need to look after our kids, they are our future. I feel sorry for the girl, the mother is blessed nothing happened to her,” she added.
Snyman applauded the police and CPF and said they had really went out of their way to locate the child.
