Johannesburg - A father of a 7-year-old girl, who was allegedly assaulted and throttled with a seatbelt by her stepmother until she passed out, believes the attack was motivated by jealousy.
The man from De Deur, south of Joburg, said his wife had always been jealous of his daughter, but he had never thought she would attack her. Their names are being withheld to protect the child.
The man said his wife had allegedly kidnapped his daughter from school one morning last month, and driven her to some bushes, where she had punched her with her fists and choked her with a seatbelt. “Luckily, she was found by a passer-by in the bush who took her to someone at a wedding venue. That person phoned the school and brought her to me. She had bruises on her neck,” he recalled.
At the time of the attack, the man was still living with his wife of two years, but his daughter was staying with her mother and grandmother. The couple are no longer together.
The man said his wife had allegedly waited for him to leave for work before going to the school and kidnapping his daughter.
“She waited outside the school premises. When my daughter arrived, she called her and told her to climb into her car. She drove her into the bushes and attacked her. She only left after she passed out, thinking she was dead,” he said.
He discovered that his daughter was missing after receiving a call from her grandmother.
“My son, who is in the same school as my daughter, saw my wife taking her,” the father said.
“I tried to phone my wife and asked her if she had taken my daughter. She denied that she had taken her. She told me she was at a hospital because she was not feeling well. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with her. I think she wanted to use this as her alibi,” he said.
“How could my wife do something like that to a 7-year-old? I’m still shocked. When I look at the pictures on my phone of what my daughter looked like on the day, I can’t help but shed a tear.”
The man said he had noticed his wife’s jealousy every time he visited his daughter.
“She never allowed me to go and see my daughter alone. Every time I went there, she had to be there. I told her that she should not worry about me getting back with my ex-girlfriend. I told her that I chose her because I love her.”
He said he was grateful to the passer-by who had found his daughter.
“I was too emotional. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to her,” he said, adding that his daughter was receiving counselling.
“My daughter is so scared. She is refusing to go back to that school. I don’t know if the counselling will help her,” he added.
The wife was arrested after the man opened a case of kidnapping and assault. She is out on bail of R5 000 and the case was postponed to February for further investigation.
When he opened the case, the man said he discovered his wife had been convicted of assault before.
The Star