AN 18-year-old boy became the latest victim in a spate of kidnappings in Cape Town after he was allegedly snatched, along with a 15-year-old girl whom police are scrambling to identify.
The Grade 11 learner was taken while on his way to write his final exam on Wednesday morning. He was allegedly taken to a river and submerged under water until his abductors believed he was dead.
The boy’s sister, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her frightened sibling, said her brother was traumatised.
She explained that her brother left home at 7am and she found him drenched in water on her doorstep a few hours later.
“I work from home, so I know when he leaves. He is normally back just before or after 12, but not very long after he left I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it, he was lying there half-conscious.
“His school clothes were torn and ripped halfway off him. He also had bruises on his body. I (took) him in my arms and he explained what happened.”
His sister said she learnt that while her brother was walking to school, a VW kombi stopped next to him and a young girl who was standing near him.
A man approached the girl and the two started exchanging words. At this point her brother tried to help as the girl was being dragged to the vehicle.
According to the teen they then also pulled him into the van.
“I believe they drove with them to Princess Vlei where they beat him and told him ‘jy gaan vrek, vrek met jou’ (you are going to die).
“He then pretended to be dead (as they held him under water) and the guys left him there for dead.
“He then swam down the stream, where he managed to get to my house, and that’s when I found him.”
His sister said besides the fact that her brother had to relive the nightmare when they went to the Grassy Park police station to report the matter, they also had to fight with the police to take a proper statement.
“We went to the police station, and they didn’t want to believe what he was telling them. They then went through footage and saw that what he was telling was the truth. They then apologised and told us the policeman would go for a disciplinary hearing,” said the woman.
“I am upset because my brother could have died. Why would you lie (after) you almost died? If he didn’t fight to stay alive, who would have known about this girl?
“He is a hero in my eyes.”
His sister also raised some red flags surrounding the mystery girl, adding that no one had came forward to report a missing child since the incident was reported.
“My brother is still very child-like at heart. He has been living with me since our mother passed on,” she explained.
“He's a child who goes to school and comes straight home and goes to his room to sit with his school books or is on his phone. He is an excellent student and I have never had problems with him.
“At the moment our focus is on him. Yes, we know there is a missing girl but we also need to make sure he’s okay.”
A police source told Weekend Argus that footage taken on the day of the incident was checked but only showed the boy being kidnapped.
Grassy Park station commander Colonel Dawood Laing said they were investigating a case of assault with grievous bodily harm and kidnapping in the case in relation to the boy.
“We urge any family that knows or has a missing girl, plus-minus 15 years old, to report it or to approach the station,” he said.
Laing also explained that no disciplinary action had been taken against the SAPS member whom the family alleged did not help the boy.
“What happened was that (the officer) took an incomplete (statement) because the boy was still in a state. He was, however, called back to the police station later, where he gave his statement, so no disciplinary action was taken against the policeman.”
Earlier this week a 17-year-old girl was abducted from her father’s shop in Delft. Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the investigation was at a sensitive stage and that no further information could be divulged.
Crime statistics released this week showed that the Western Cape recorded the third-highest number of kidnappings in the country, with 248 reported between July and September.