Cops' 'inhumane' attitude to be probed

2010-06-28 15:32

Johannesburg - The alleged "callous" and "inhumane" attitude displayed by Booysens and Mondeor police station officers to a distressed woman should be investigated immediately, Gauteng community safety MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu said on Monday.

The mother of two children who were shot dead by their father last week, went to the police to beg for help shortly before the shooting, but was reportedly ignored.

"Insidious and cruel behaviour such as this does not belong to a police service of a democratic order such as ours," said Mosunkutu in a statement.

The Star newspaper reported that 36-year-old Sello Lucas Nthite shot his 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter in the bedroom of his Naturena flat, before turning the gun on himself last Wednesday.

The shooting happened between 17:30 and 18:00, but the children's mother was already pleading for help from the police as early as 15:45, after her estranged husband sent her an SMS saying what he planned to do.

According to the newspaper report, she went to Booysens police station and showed a police sergeant the SMS and a restriction order she had against Nthite, granted last month after he had beaten her in front of their son.

The policeman said he could not help her because a page was missing from the restriction order, and Naturena - where the father lived - was not part of the Booysens police district.

The mother was told to go to the Mondeor police station instead, where she could not be helped immediately. The police officer there told her to wait for the next shift to come in, because it was nearly time for the shift change.

"Such backward and anti-social behaviour must be investigated immediately and those in charge must ensure that appropriate action is taken without waste of time," said Mosunkutu after getting a briefing on the incident.

- SAPA