Alleged kidnapping of Athlone pupil thwarted

A pupil at Alexander Sinton High School escaped from an alleged kidnapper on Tuesday.

A pupil at Alexander Sinton High School escaped from an alleged kidnapper on Tuesday.

Published Jun 2, 2022

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Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has said they are aware of an alleged abduction attempt of a pupil at Alexander Sinton Secondary School and have agreed to increase patrolling in the area, before and after school.

The alleged incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, while the pupil was making her way home from school.

The principal was informed Tuesday night and reported the matter to SAPS and a community security company.

In a video widely shared on social media, a pupil tells how the incident occurred and she was able to escape.

The pupil says a man walked past her, turned around and grabbed her around her neck. The emotional girl explains that while being attacked she looked ahead and saw the doors of a vehicle open and decided to fight the attacker.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said they had arranged counselling support for the pupil.

“There is a lot of concern within communities at recent reports of alleged abductions of females in the Cape Metro area. While SAPS would be able to verify the authenticity of all of the reported cases, we can confirm that no recent cases have been confirmed by schools, apart from the (Alexander Sinton) incident. All other allegations referring to schools, including the alleged incident in Tafelsig on Tuesday, have been unfounded,” she said.

“Schools should also ensure that learners are aware of ‘stranger danger’. While we do not want to frighten them, they must know that they should be wary and run away if any stranger approaches them. They should also not accept any free food, drinks, money or objects from strangers, and should report any suspicious characters to an educator or administrator at the school as soon as possible,” she said.

Police, however, said they had no record of the Alexander Sinton matter being reported to them.

“We advise ... the person referred to in the matter to report the matter to the SAPS for further investigation,” said police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi.

Cape Times