A Mitchells Plain mom is furious after she allegedly found sand in a box of formula milk she had bought from a huiswinkel.
Lateefah Petersen, 27, from Westridge says when she went back to the shop in Begonia Street in Lentegeur, the owners refused to reimburse her.
“I went to a friend who lent me money on Monday in Lentegeur and when I was walking home, I thought I should buy the formula on that side.
“When I arrived at home, I boiled water to feed my seven-month-old baby and when I opened the packet inside the box, I was shocked to find the sand,” the mother of three explains.
Lateefah says she couldn’t immediately go back to the shop because it was too far to walk and only returned on Tuesday.
“I told them about what happened and that they tampered with the packet,” she says.
“They told me that they can’t help me, they also said they would not pay back my R46.
“I had to borrow money to replace the formula because I was not refunded.”
When the Daily Voice visited Fastliner Corner Shop with Lateefah on Wednesday, the owner Shuaib Ghazanfar accused the mother of putting sand in the packet herself.
“She came on Tuesday and told us about the sand in the packet,” he says.
“But I suspect that she did that herself, because she is the only person who has complained about such a thing.
“We don’t buy from the streets, all our goods are bought from reputable wholesalers and we didn’t tamper with anything.
She must tell the truth about what she did with the real milk and not blame us for that,” Shuaib explains.
But Lateefah says she’s innocent: “Why would I do that to my baby?”