NNP outraged over caged girl
2003-07-30 19:09
Cape Town - The New National Party on Wednesday said it was outraged over the abuse of yet another innocent child, following a report by Mpumalanga police of a three-year-old girl being held in a cage and sexually assaulted.
"The barbaric way in which she was allegedly held in a cage by... people who were supposed to take care of her, is shocking," NNP media director Adriaan van Jaarsveld said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, police in the province said a three-year-old White River girl was locked in a cage while her grandparents allegedly sexually assaulted her, and failed to provide for even her most basic needs.
Sergeant Ralda Visser said police got a tip-off recently from a travelling pastor that a child was being kept locked up in a compound in Brondal, near White River.
She said when police went to investigate they found the girl had already been removed from the cage. However, there was evidence the child had been battered with sticks or other weapons, and been sexually assaulted.
The whereabouts of the girl's father was unknown, while the mother was seriously ill in hospital, she said.
Van Jaarsveld said child abuse in South Africa had reached shocking proportions and the figures were escalating.
"Child abuse is a crime where the principle of zero tolerance must apply.
"Again, the NNP wants to call on government to investigate the reinstatement of the death penalty. Children should be seen and not hurt," he said.
- SAPA