No lip service

YOUNG mother is lying in agony in the burns unit of Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital. She’s been there since November 3, when the father of her child threw acid over her.

Today, she will undergo the first of a series of skin grafts. The man who did this is still at large.

The case of Ines Antonio is a quintessential 16 Days story, one where the abuse was signposted before it eventually blew up with tragic consequences. But it’s more than that.

The police claim they were unable to take a statement from her because of the severity of her injuries, yet her employer spoke to her the next day – and told police Antonio was able to speak. We spoke to her two weeks after the attack, before police had been to see her. And, in the most damning indictment of all, her attacker continues to send her vile threatening SMSes as she lies in her hospital bed – without any real fear of capture.

Every year, we urge the public to take charge and make a difference. The public did so in this case, someone is looking after Antonio’s child, not the state, and someone alerted us to the case.

The question is, what are the police doing about this? Sadly, the answer is rhetorical. It’s unacceptable and intolerable. Let’s see action, let’s see the guilty behind bars. Now!

A