'Stripped naked' e-mail a hoax
2003-11-19 13:20
Cape Town - A warning issued by e-mail on a so-called police letterhead is a hoax, says West Metropole spokesperson Superintendent Nina Kirsten.
The e-mail, distributed on a fake police letterhead and signed by one Inspector Ian Roberts, SAPS Public Information Officer, is nothing but "urban legend", Kirsten said.
"There has never been such an incident reported anywhere in the Cape. This is a sick joke."
The e-mail warns women who do Christmas shopping during the holiday season to be careful when going to the restrooms.
"With what is being called amazing regularity, victims of this new crime wave have been found walking out of shopping mall restrooms completely naked," the e-mail states.
A man apparently lurks in a toilet in the ladies' restroom until the victim enters the loo next door. He then reportedly puts an "Out of Order" note on the door, returns to the stall and, standing on the toilet, force the woman at gunpoint to hand over her valuables.
He then orders her to undress and disappear with the valuables and clothes.
By the time the victim eventually plucks up the courage to return to the mall stark naked, the robber has disappeared, the e-mail states.
Kirsten said about the same time last year a similar "warning" surfaced in the Cape Peninsula, when women were warned about a stalker/robber at the V&A Waterfront.
She said there was no such a person as "Inspector Ian Roberts" in the employ of the SAPS, and neither did there exist such a position as "SAPS Public Information Officer".
Warnings and other police statements were made in a specific format and never on a police letterhead, always complete with telephone numbers and reference names.
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