Manenberg police are investigating a child abuse case after a poor 11-year-old girl was tied up and beaten by security guards at Nyanga Junction for stealing sloffies.
The child’s angry family say she was hospitalised for three days after the brutal beating which left her with bruises across her body.
The girl’s 71-year-old ouma, who asked not to be named to protect the child’s identity, says the kid came home crying on Friday, 13 March.
The arme kind admits to the Daily Voice that she went to Power Fashion with her friends and her uncle and stole the flip-flops because she didn’t have shoes to wear.
ANGER: Manenberg ouma holding her granddaughter, 11, who was moered by security guards
“My uncle and his girlfriend were going to the Junction so we walked with them,” she explains.
“They left us and we went into one of the shops. I was asking for sloffies because I don’t have shoes, but my family don’t have money for shoes. I stole a pair and they caught me.”
The girl says the store manager and two security guards took her to the back of the store where they beat her.
“They tied plastic stuff around my hands and hit me all over with a stick on my arms, back and legs,” she says.
“The one klapped me so hard my mouth started bleeding and they kept me at the back.”
The worried ouma says she went to look for the girl, but could not find her.
BRUISES: The girl was tied up and beaten with a stick
“It was dark already and it was load shedding and they made her walk home alone in the dark,” she says.
“Anything could have happened to her, sy is ’n meisiekind! I know what she did was wrong, but why did they not take her to the police station and contact the family?
“They hit her so bad she was in the hospital for three days. We are poor and struggling and I feel bad that this child felt she needed to go steal.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirms the case: “She was detained after it was alleged that she stole a pair of sandals at a shop.
“She was later released from Nyanga Junction without any criminal enquiry opened against her.
“She was taken to a medical facility for medical attention. Investigations continue and no arrest has been made as yet.”
Store manager Oyena Maputaputa says the store is hard-hit by theft and says she was present the day the child was caught.
“She stole a pair of R90 slippers and one of the children called her uncle. We have a policy that if someone is caught stealing, they must pay three times the value. Her uncle agreed to pay, but never came back,” she says
DENY: The incident occurred at a shop in Nyanga Junction
Oyena admits that the child was kept until the store closed at 6pm, but denies she was beaten.
“I did not see anyone beat her or marks on her body and I don’t know about her being tied up. She was not tied up and the police never told us they are investigating us.”
Daily Voice showed the manager pictures of the child’s body, including scars on her arms still visible yesterday, but the manager continued to deny she was beaten.