A parent whose daughter was almost kidnapped at the Boskruin Village Shopping Centre is warning other parents to be more vigilant while walking with their children at the centre.
This follows an incident which occurred on 2 October at the shopping centre around 12pm. Vicki* (surname withheld to protect the identity of the child) was with her 16-year-old daughter when she left her outside to enter one of the shops in the area.
“I popped into Woolworths to get a couple of things. As we had our dog with us, my daughter waited outside,” she said.
She said her daughter was standing outside the old camera shop when a young man approached her and allegedly told her that he liked her dog. The man then is said to have told the young girl that she was very pretty. “At this point, my daughter began walking towards Woolworths but the man grabbed her wrist and started pulling her in the opposite direction,” she said.
“She started shouting and kicking and our dog went nuts and attacked him. He kicked the dog hard and ran off. Nobody was around at that particular moment.”
She also explained that they checked all the CCTV footage, but the cameras focus on the parking lot and not the walkway. “The security at the centre was very helpful. The suspect managed to stay clear of all cameras, which may indicate that he knew what areas were covered,” she further explained.
She added that they tried to report this incident to the Honeydew police to no avail. They were allegedly told that the police could not open a case of attempted kidnapping as the daughter had not been taken off the premises.
“They also said assault requires a letter from a doctor verifying injuries and they would not write up the incident in the Occurrence Book either. They were generally not helpful or sympathetic at all. It has been a traumatic experience that has left us shaken. And it all happened in broad daylight and could happen again,” she concluded.
Melissa Boueer from the centre confirmed the incident. “We have briefed our security provider again to be on the lookout,” she said.
Boueer explained that the centre treated the matter seriously and it would relook at their security measures. Honeydew police are yet to respond.
Details: Boskruin Village Shopping Centre 011 792 5817.
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