Johannesburg - Many took to social media in fury as a video showing children left unattended in a car went viral.
The incident is believed to have taken place outside a Spar store in Roodepoort. It is unclear who the children were with.
In the video, a security guard can be seen holding a toddler while another child is seen sitting in the open window.
Siyabulela Precious Ruiters, the person who shot and then shared the video on Facebook, said she waited in her car for about 15 minutes and yet the parents were still a no-show.
Social media users slammed the parents as 'irresponsible' and 'careless'.
The man who claimed to be the car guard said he did the best he could as a car guard.
"It is never alright to leave a child in a car for any amount of time. Anything could happen, the child could become ill or the car could be hijacked with the child inside. There is no reason for a parent to leave their child locked up in a car these days because malls have trolleys and carts that you can carry your children around in while you shop. There is just no excuse," he said in a Facebook comment.
In 2016/17, the South African Police Service (SAPS) recorded 16 717 carjacking incidents in South Africa. This is reportedly the highest number recorded in the past ten years.
On average, 45.8 cars were hijacked per day in 2016/17. Over half of the crimes occurred in Gauteng.
According to police figures, each year 800 to 900 children are murdered and Missing Persons Bureau say a child goes missing every five hours in our country.