A two-year-old baby girl was allegedly raped inside a hospital toilet in Atlantis, Cape Town on Wednesday 10 January 2023. Residents from the area said they are shocked, while others are struggling to believe the incident.
“It is beyond my understanding that a person rapes a child inside a toilet at the hospital. How did the monster get access to the hospital, and how did he even manage to drag the child to the toilet,” said resident Veronica Ntutu(45) from Witsands.
According to a witness who was at the hospital at the time of the incident, they saw a woman chasing a man coming from the directions of the toilets. He was caught by an alert security guard who tackled him to the ground.
“The angry woman arrived at the gate and started beating up the man while he was still on the ground. She was screaming that he raped her child inside the toilet. Police arrived at the scene and the child was quickly taken for examination. I don’t know how the matter ended,” added said the patient.
Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness spokesperson Byron La Hoe confirmed the incident.
“The Department can confirm there was an incident reported to us and that the alleged perpetrator is not an employee of the Department. While an inquiry into the incident was registered with the South African Police Service (SAPS), the child was examined by a doctor at the hospital’s Thuthuzela Care Centre.
“The centre is a safe space where victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) are provided with social, psychological, medical and legal services in a more victim-friendly environment,” said La Hoe.
Police spokesman Wesley Twigg said the matter is under investigation.