‘I was called ape and beaten’
Student says white woman racially abused, punched her in a club
Police in Pretoria have assured a 22-yearold female student who was assaulted in an allegedly racially motivated attack at a club on Friday that they will thoroughly investigate her case.
A case of assault has been opened with police after the woman was allegedly called an ape and punched in the face in an apparent racially motivated incident at a Pretoria club. The alleged victim took to Twitter at the weekend, saying that she had been attacked by a white woman in the bathroom of the club in Hatfield.
“Tonight I experienced my first physical racist attack. This thread gives a detailed explanation of the event because I REFUSE TO BE A F***EN STATISTIC‚” she wrote.
“While I was in the bathroom stall‚ I heard the doors of the stalls next to mine being banged on‚ and then my door got banged on‚ so I said ‘hello?’ hoping that if it was one of my friends looking for me they would recognise my voice and respond‚” she wrote.
“I wash my hands‚ and I’m looking in the mirror and I see her pointing at me while speaking to her friends. I asked her‚ ‘Sis‚ you good?’ She says to me, ‘No I’m not‚ you apes are taking up all our space.”
She said she was punched in the face. Another woman intervened and helped her wipe away the tears and blood.
While confronting the alleged attacker in the passenger seat of a car‚ the driver sped away. The tale elicited dozens of replies and offers to help trace the culprit.
The victim wrote an update on Twitter, saying: “A case has been opened but I am not allowed to divulge too much information as that could work in her favour (sic).
“She has made attempts to get hold of me to ‘apologise’ but … no my girl‚ apology not accepted.”
‘‘ I asked her‚ ‘sis‚ you good?’ She says, ‘No‚ you apes are taking up all our space
She also claimed that police who initially attended to her complaint at the Brooklyn police station were not helpful.
She claimed that police told her: “We’ve never had an issue with white girls here.”
Brooklyn police confirmed on Monday that they were investigating a case of assault in which a student was attacked.
“The management of Brooklyn SAPS is concerned over the social media reports that are making the rounds where the victim alleged that she was not assisted at the station when she wanted to open a case.
“Police officers handed her a medical examination form on Friday evening and the case was opened on Saturday after she consulted a doctor‚” said Brooklyn police spokesperson Colette Weilbach.
She said police officers were not allowed to turn away complainants.
“The victim is invited to lay a formal complaint against the police if she feels that she was treated unfairly. The allegations and the circumstances will be investigated internally by an officer.”
Weilbach said disciplinary steps would be taken against police members if they were found guilty of misconduct.