An 18-year-old boy and an unidentified 15-year-old girl became the latest victims of a spate of kidnappings in Cape Town after they were allegedly snatched on Wednesday morning.
It is believed that the Grade 11 learner was taken on his way to write his final exam and was allegedly submerged in water until his abductors believed he was dead.
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Speaking to IOL on condition of anonymity, the boy’s sister said that her brother was traumatised, explaining that he had left home at 7am, returning home, drenched in water, a few hours later.
“I work from home, so I know when he leaves,” she told the Weekend Argus. “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.”
The sister said 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 then approached the girl and the two started exchanging words. 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.”
The sister also expressed concern regarding the mystery girl, adding that no one had come 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.”
Meanwhile, Grassy Park station commander Colonel Dawood Laing confirmed that the boy was the subject of an assault with grievous bodily harm and kidnapping investigation.
“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.
Last 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.
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