Roodepoort Police remains mum after a mentally ill woman allegedly was raped last week.
According to Lizle Jones she was on her way to buy fast food on Wednesday 8 October at 12.15pm. When she passed a small bush at the corner of Reservoir and Finch Streets, she noticed a man on top of a woman. She thought they were having intercourse and made a U-turn but the man fled. She then realised that the woman was raped. The woman was in a daze and unresponsive. Jones recognised the woman as a mentally disabled homeless woman who often is seen on the street.
Jones tried to report the case at the police but says she was met with indifference by the officer on duty and he told her that there is nothing they (the police) can do.
DA councillor and spokesperson for Health and Social Development, Ingrid Reinten says according to the Mental Health Act a person who is mentally ill and unable to take care of themselves should be taken to a medical institution by the police to establish the spectrum of the illness. Such a person should be referred to a place of safety.
“We have to look after those who are weaker than ourselves. That is the bottom line of our constitution,” says Reinten.
The record obtained photographs of the victim and is awaiting comment from Roodepoort Police after numerous attempts to make contact proved to be fruitless.
