Welkom police are on the lookout for two men who gang-raped a woman after she mistakenly boarded a vehicle she thought was a taxi.
On 18 May, at about 08:30, a 34-year-old woman residing in Riebeeckstad stopped a white Toyota Tazz that she thought was a taxi. She was on her way to the Bongani Hospital to receive her Covid-19 booster. There were two men inside the vehicle. She paid the driver a R13 taxi fare, which he accepted.
After a few meters, another woman stopped the vehicle and indicated to the driver that she wanted to go to the Teto Secondary School in Thabong.
When the “taxi” drove past the hospital, the first woman enquired of the driver where they were going. He told her that he was first taking the other passenger to her destination. After he dropped the passenger off at the school, the driver then proceeded to travel towards Jasons Way in Riebeeckstad.
“He parked next to the road, and then when the driver and the male passenger started to speak to each other, the victim realised that they were indeed friends. She was blindfolded with a mask. They threatened her with a knife, and the driver, who had a firearm, discharged a warning shot into the air,” says Capt. Stephen Thakeng, media liaison officer for the Lejweleputswa police.
The victim was forced into the bush next to the road and she was then repeatedly raped by the two suspects. “Her pleas for them to stop fell on deaf ears, and they repeatedly threatened her with a knife and a gun. They also kicked her,” said Thakeng.
After the rape ordeal, the victim was driven to the Doornpan Sewage Station where they left her. She reported the rape to the police, and an identikit was compiled.
Should anyone have information leading to the arrest of these alleged rapists, who were travelling in a white Tazz, they must contact Det. Sgt Thato Mokoena of Welkom Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit (FCS) on 071-679-0988 or the Crime Stop number 08600-10111.
