Keep a close eye on your kids

Thabazimbi – Be extra vigilant and keep a close eye on your children when you visit a mall or busy part of town, as a young mother who went for brunch with her children and her mother-in-law recently had a very unsettling experience.

 “We were sitting in Wimpy at the Thaba Mall when an unknown man lifted his one leg over the railing and started calling at my three-year-old daughter to go to him,” says a very upset Mariska du Toit.

Being vigilant, du Toit and her mother-in-law immediately picked up on his suspicious behaviour. They immediately alerted the mall security, who at the time was standing just outside Wimpy.

According to Du Toit, the security officer replied: “The guy is mad.” Du Toit ran after the man to confront him, who then said to her that he will take her child ‘next time’.

When Platinum Bushvelder took the matter up with the mall’s management, we were referred to Wimpy. We also spoke to the portfolio manager of the owners of the mall who said:

“We are busy with an investigation, but ultimately we are not involved in what goes on at the Wimpy.”

Speaking to the manager of Wimpy, it was clear that the safety of their customers, especially the children, is of utmost importance to them. He said that they will ask their staff to be on high alert to the surroundings and that they will also take it up with mall management.

He also said that by making the railing higher, might help to prevent this type of incident and that they will look into it.

Sector head at Community Policing Forum (CPF), Petrus van Breda says that parents must keep their children close to them and that they should never let them out of their sight. “Unfortunately, we live in a country where these things happen,” he says. 

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