Cape Town - Two taxi commuters on their way home from central Cape Town to Bellville were blindfolded while three men raped one of them.
The rape survivor has lodged a complaint at Bellville polices station but police do not know what had happened to the other passenger and have asked the public for help.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said on Wednesday the driver had dropped passengers at the Melomed Hospital in Bellville, leaving the pair, who did not know each other, alone with the driver and the taxi guard on Friday evening.
“The driver told the two women that he had to pick up someone in Boston. When they arrived in Boston Avenue, the taxi stopped and three men got in. The taxi then continued in the direction of Voortrekker Road when one of the three men pointed a gun at them,” he said.
Van Wyk said they were blindfolded and forced to the floor of the taxi where one of the women was raped by all three men.
“It is not certain if the other woman had also been raped. The taxi stopped at the Karl Bremer Hospital off-ramp where the (raped) woman was pushed out of the taxi. She managed to walk to the hospital and ask for help,” he said.
Van Wyk said police do not know what had happened to the other woman.
Rape Crisis spokeswoman Sarah Strydom said the occurrence of rape in taxis was “nothing new”.
“Over the years our counsellors at all our centres have dealt with similar cases. These women don’t only have to deal with the trauma of being raped, but often being robbed too… ” she said.
Anyone with information on the unknown woman or the rape can contact Crime Stop confidentially at 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times