Cape Town - A 49-year-old man has appeared in the Richmond District Court in the Northern Cape after he was charged with numerous charges including attempted kidnapping, sexual assault, and assault of a police officer.
Titus Motloung was arrested after he allegedly attacked a female police officer who was hitch-hiking from Richmond on her way to Bloemfontein in the Free State.
The provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mojalefa Senokoatsane, said the incident occurred on May 21, 2023.
“She was offered a lift by the accused who is an engineer, working in the City of Cape Town. Along the way, the accused started to attack the victim. She tried to alert passing motorists and one noticed her gestures, while the accused refused to let her out of his car,” Senokoatsane said.
However, panic soon set in when Motloung noticed a police roadblock along the way.
“The police started to set up a roadblock that was executed in the Free State, and when the accused realised the was a roadblock, he rammed his car against the barricade and the car caught fire. The accused was arrested and the victim was rescued by the police,” Senokoatsane said.
The case against Motloung has been postponed until May 30, for bail information as well as a possible bail application.
He has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance.
On Monday week, a Mozambican national, 53, appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, for allegedly contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013, following his arrest on May 18.
The Hawks said the girl, 17, was lured from Mozambique and promised a job at the suspect’s spaza shop in Alexandra.
On arrival in Johannesburg, the victim found that there was no spaza shop, and the suspect allegedly threatened her and forced himself on her between January and March 2023.
The case against the suspect was postponed until May 29, formal bail information.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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