A man has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape and robbery of a 21-year-old woman while she was using an e-hailing service at the weekend.
“A 23-year-old foreign national was arrested on charges of robbery and rape,” said police spokesperson Wesley Twigg.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The incident concerns a 21-year-old woman who requested an e-hailing trip at about 9.25pm in Alexander Street, Bellville, on Friday.
She was coming from work and going home.
“She was fetched by a foreign driver who instructed her to sit in the back of the hatchback vehicle. While they were travelling towards her destination, a second foreign suspect allegedly appeared from the boot and threatened her with a firearm, demanding her belongings. He robbed her of her laptop, cellphone, work scanner and headphones. The suspect then violated the victim, whereafter they dropped her on the side of the road,” said Twigg.
The suspects allegedly also attempted to get money from her family by forcing the woman to call her relatives and make the request.
inDrive spokesperson Lineo Thakhisi confirmed the incident, adding that the driver had been banned from their platform.
“The driver involved in the recent incident has been permanently banned from our platform. We have reached out to the passenger to offer psychological support and counselling during this difficult time.
We are fully prepared to co-operate with authorities in sharing all information required to ensure justice is served. Ensuring user-safety is our top priority at inDrive,” said Thakhisi.
She said inDrive also recently launched a Safety Pact to empower its users and drive safety.
“With the Safety Pact, inDrive reaffirms its commitment to the safety of all users through dedicated features, while also providing tips and a code of conduct. The company encourages passengers and drivers to opt-in, promoting mutual respect and secure practices for every ride. In addition to the pact, our app allows users to manually add, edit and delete trusted contacts.
“inDrive’s app design has also been updated to improve user experience, making the Safety Centre more visible,” said Thakhisi.
Bellville Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson Emre Uygun welcomed the arrest. Uygun said they were informed on Sunday that four men were taken in for questioning and after a while some were released.
“The cameras in the area were able to pick up the Hyundai vehicle and show that it was still in the northern suburbs, roaming around.
A swift arrest for this heinous crime will be welcomed. We will support the victim even in court and have a petition calling for no bail; we take all GBV cases seriously,” said Uygun.
Cape Times