'Changeroom rape' a hoax

2007-10-09 16:11

Cape Town - An e-mail doing the rounds from the SAPS warning women that they could be locked in a changeroom, robbed and raped by criminals targeting shopping malls, has been confirmed as a hoax by police officials.

According to the hoax e-mail, nine incidents of this "nearly perfect crime" have been reported at South Gate Mall, five at Sandton Mall and four at both Cresta Mall and The Glenn Mall, and to date, no one has been caught.

Eugene Opperman, of the Gauteng SAPS Communication Service, confirmed in a statement that "no such incidents mentioned in the attached message have been reported to the SAPS".

The hoax e-mail, sent by an "Inspector Ian Roberts, SAPS Public Information Officer", warns women to be vigilant over the festive season and to "take a lady friend or a family member with" when using changerooms.

The e-mail alleges that women have been locked in change rooms, robbed of their possessions and their clothes and then raped.

"The thief tosses the clothing into a shopping bag, and slips back into the mall. It usually takes an hour or two for the woman to work up the nerve to leave the restroom in the nude, giving the criminal ample time to make his get away. The woman is eventually left naked and humiliated in a mall full of strangers," reads the e-mail.

Ficticious

Opperman said that "the author of the document bearing the fictitious name of 'Ian Roberts' is not a member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and is indeed unknown to the SAPS."

Opperman also cautioned South Africans to be vigilant of hoax e-mails, adding, "there is no postal address or any contact numbers in the e-mail. That should already make any reader very suspicious. In fact, any e-mail doing the rounds about 'warnings' should be checked for contact details."

Opperman advises that people who receive such messages should visit "well-known websites that specialise in the identification and correction of hoax messages and urban legends" before passing them on.

- News24