Screenshot of video showing alleged abuse at Carletonville creche.
A woman who repeatedly slapped a toddler for vomiting at a creche in Carletonville was reportedly arrested last week after her colleague opened a case against her.
The 40-year old woman was arrested a week ago and appeared in the Oberholzer Court in Carletonville on March 28 on a charge of assaulting a minor.
She was released on bail and will appear again in May.
“With the Court process having commenced and, given that the investigation is yet to be concluded, police are not at liberty to divulge any further detail or give further comment on this matter.
“Management of police have however, condemned in the harshest terms possible, both the incident as well as the continued irresponsible circulation of the video clips on social media platforms.
“Meanwhile, the investigation of all crimes committed against children, women and other vulnerable groups, remains a priority for the South African Police Service. This case is therefore receiving priority attention to ensure that ultimately, justice is served,” said the South African Police Service in a statement.
Gauteng MEC of education Panyaza Lesufi on Thursday initiated a hunt for the crèche employee after she was seen in a video repeatedly slapping a toddler, allegedly for vomiting.
Attempts to reach the suspected creche were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
In the video, a woman can be seen slapping the child while asking her why she vomited. She also forces the child to clean up the vomit as she continues with the slapping.
Lesufi said: “Disgusting! I couldn’t even finish watching it! Team @Steve_Mabona @EducationGP let’s hunt this creche! I am [on] standby to pounce, just get details.”
The video sparked the sharing of similar ones on social media showing the abuse suffered by toddlers at the hands of their caretakers. The woman in one of the other videos shared was allegedly the same as the one who repeatedly slapped the toddler for vomiting.
The social development department deployed a team of social workers to the crèche to establish the extent of abuse caught on video.
Spokesperson Thebe Mohatle told Jacaranda FM: “Appropriate action will be taken after social workers release the information they have gathered. We are just waiting on a report from our colleagues so we can make a statement as to how we plan to respond to that. The act remains condemnable in its strongest sense and we do encourage parents to take legal action.”
(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)
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