Rape didn’t take place at mall

WITH reference to the article, “Woman raped while walking to Baywest” (January 18), I would like to clear up any possible misconceptions surrounding safety at Baywest Mall.

Police have confirmed that the incident did not take place within the Baywest Mall precinct, as intimated in the article headline. In fact, it happened on the opposite side of the N2 highway, along a community footpath in the Rowallan Park-Cape Road area.

As a safety-oriented shopping centre, we find it misleading to the public that we are erroneously linked to a heinous crime such as this. Baywest Mall takes these issues extremely seriously, which is why we have a strong security presence in and around our mall, including quadbike and vehicle patrols, and roving security guards, as well as the police tactical response unit on standby.

We have a very close and proactive working relationship with the South African Police Service, and the nearby Kabega Park police station serves and protects the community on our doorstep. We were proud to have had an incident-free festive season, which was in large part thanks to our partnership with SAPS.

Our centre management team also works with the police and emergency services to hold regular emergency drills to check our situational readiness and ensure the safest possible shopping experience. We urge anyone visiting our mall to report any suspicious activity to our in-house security team or the info desk.

Troy Zunckel, general manager, Baywest Mall OUR report was based on information provided by police. No inference was given in the headline or the stor y that this crime took place at or in Baywest Mall. – The editor