Rape suspect hangs himself
STANDERTON – Police members at Standerton Police Station are still baffled by a suicide that took place in the temporary holding cells at the Community Services Centre.
A 25-year-old suspect was brought to the station by a member of the community after he was severely beaten by angry community members who accused him of rape. According to sources within SAPS, the suspect allegedly raped a 17-year old girl on Tuesday, 17 May. It is reported that the suspect saw the girl walking from a tuck shop at 20:30 in Extension 6, he forced her into his shack and allegedly raped her. After the alleged rape the suspect gave the victim a piece of paper containing his name and cell phone number and let her go home.
The victim reported the incident to her mother the following morning, 18 May. The mother reported the news to her employer and they both took the victim to show them the shack where the alleged rape took place. Upon arrival the suspect was sitting in the shack and the victim positively identified him. It is reported that angry members of the community then attacked him with various home made weapons.
The mother’s employer rescued him from the mob justice and he drove the mother, victim and the suspect to the police station. Lieutenant Nhlabathi reports that the suspect was handed over to the police at 10:30 where he was placed in a temporary holding cell while SAPS members took statements from the victim and the mother.
It is reported that the suspect requested the help of a security guard at the station to assist him in calling his mother in KwaZulu- Natal. After speaking to his mother for fifteen minutes he was found hanging from the window frame with a thin string around his neck. Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect used the string from his track suit to hang himself. Lt Nhlabathi reports that the suspect was wearing only a tracksuit and pair of socks when he was placed in the cell. Paramedics were called to the scene and declared him dead.
The incident was reported to the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID). The body was kept in the holding cell until an IPID official arrived at 14:45. When the official concluded his investigation the body was taken to the mortuary by the state Forensic Pathology Services. Lt Nhlabathi confirmed that a doctor confirmed that the victim was raped. An inquest and a case of rape were opened for investigation.
Mr Jomo Makhubo from the Forensic Pathology Services and two police officers carry the body of the suspected rapist to the waiting pathology vehicle outside the Standerton Police Station.
