Petrified and naked in a public restroom
A mentally ill and naked woman locked herself in a public restroom and refused to come out.
Members of a local Community Policing Forum (CPF) were called to a rather unusual scene at Key West shopping centre last night, 30 July.
A mentally unstable, naked woman locked herself in one of the public toilets in the mall.
Security staff at the centre called for backup when the woman who seemed to have been under the influence of either alcohol or an illegal substance was behaving out of control. The call came through while the News and CPF were on a raid together in some of Krugersdorp’s notorious areas.
At the public restrooms in the centre, one could hear strange noises coming from the cubicle in which the woman had locked herself.
A member of the CPF tried to convince her to unlock the door and come out, but she refused. However, she insisted on communicating with the female News reporter only, who spent about 20 minutes negotiating with her to get her to unlock the door.
Peeking underneath the locked door the News saw the woman’s bare feet, with her clothing nowhere in sight. The confused woman explained she had lost her clothes and could not come out because she was naked.
With the help of the CPF her dress was found a few cubicles away from the one she had locked herself in. Her clothes were placed in middle of the facility to lure her out.
The News and CPF members waited outside while she dressed herself but she ran back into a cubicle and locked it.
After further negotiations, the woman finally opened the door and came out.
By that time the Krugersdorp Police had arrived at the scene.
The woman insisted on washing her face and drinking water first, which she did at every single basin inside the facility.
The CPF member managed to get a blanket for the woman and she was removed safely from the centre with the help of other CPF members and police.
On arrival at the address the woman said she was living at, the News learned from relatives that she was not under the influence but had been suffering from what seemed to be a mental illness.
Krugersdorp Police members tried to convince her relatives to take her back in but they refused. They said her strange behaviour had disrupted their household for the last three months.
Police had no choice but to take her to Leratong Hospital, where hopefully she will get the treatment she so desperately needs.
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