2 police officers held on rape charges
2013-02-22 08:52
Johannesburg - A 31-year-old police constable appeared in
the Dealesville Magistrate's Court in connection with the rape of a woman in
Boshof, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said on
Thursday, while another policeman is due to appear in court on Friday in
connection with the rape of a woman at a police station trauma room in the
Western Cape.
Spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the first alleged rape took
place on 17 February, when the 21-year-old woman from Warrenton in the Northern
Cape and her friends were returning from a tavern.
"Apparently the suspect was at the same tavern. The
victim, who is the suspect's ex-girlfriend, asked for a lift from the suspect
for herself and her party," Dlamini said in a statement.
Dlamini said the officer took the other people to their
places of residence and then drove to an unknown road and told the woman that
they were going to the Free State.
"The victim asked the suspect to stop so that she could
relieve herself. As the victim was getting dressed, it is alleged that the
suspect went to the complainant and tried to grab her. The complainant ran
around the vehicle [in an attempt] to evade the suspect," said Dlamini.
"The suspect allegedly raped the victim without a
condom. The suspect ordered the victim to get into the vehicle and she refused.
The suspect assaulted the victim and threatened to kill her."
Dlamini said the woman opened a case of rape at a police
station.
The constable fled to Potchefstroom but later handed himself
in at the Boshof police station.
The officer appeared in the Dealesville Magistrate's Court
on Wednesday.
The case was postponed to 25 February for a bail
application, Dlamini added.
Western Cape rape
Meanwhile, the Cape Times reported on Friday that a
52-year-old police constable allegedly raped a 49-year-old woman in the trauma
room at the Herbertsdale satellite police station on 15 February. She was
apparently trying to lodge a domestic violence complaint.
"After he listened to her complaint, he locked the
front door of the station and took the victim by force to the trauma room,
where he pulled her pants down and raped her," Dlamini told the newspaper.
The woman returned to the satellite police station to report
the rape the next day, and was told officers would come to her house, but they
failed to do so, so she reported the rape to her local councillor.
The constable was arrested the next day, and will appear in
the Mossel Bay Magistrate's Court on Friday.
- SAPA
