An Edleen woman claims she was left humiliated and angry after the manager of a local supermarket falsely accused her of theft, and attempted to search her in front of other shoppers.
Zaan Posthumus (25) was exiting Edleen Spar with her husband and two-year-old daughter on Wednesday afternoon when manager André Horn apparently confronted her.
“He told me to ‘return what [I] stole’, and I explained that my jacket had no pockets,” a traumatised Posthumus told Express on Thursday. “He alleged I hid something in my pants.”
According to Posthumus, Horn told her to lift up her jacket.
“My shirt also lifted and he saw a scar from my hernia surgery. He said ‘oops, sorry’ and left with his arms crossed.”
She claimed no female security guards were present.
Posthumus then apparently confronted Horn, who again apologised. “I was so cross and humiliated. He can’t just say he’s sorry and leave it at that.”
When Express contacted Horn for comment, he said: “It was a misunderstanding. I apologised and she didn’t want to accept it.”
He then declined to state his side of the incident.
Posthumus said she reported a complaint about the incident with Spar customer care, but would not report it to police.
“He probably has a family, so I’ll leave it at this, but I never want to see him again.”
A copy of the article was sent to Horn via WhatsApp to again give him the opportunity to comment but he did not respond.
