POTCHEFSTROOM – A collaborative operation by the District Task Team and Rustenburg Detectives resulted in the arrest of a 46-year-old man for attacking an off-duty female police officer.
According to South African Police Service, the arrest stems from an incident that occurred near a taxi rank in Rustenburg on Thursday, November 30, 2023. The available information indicates that the suspect, along with his companions who are taxi patrollers, assaulted the police officer. They suspected her boyfriend of being a bolt taxi operator. During the attack, the officer’s spectacles, valued at R6000.00, were damaged.
Further investigation linked the suspect to additional crimes, including hijacking, kidnapping, and extortion.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in the Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court on Monday, December 4, 2023. He faces charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to property. The Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, strongly condemned the assault, particularly noting its occurrence during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.