Victim claims police fails to come to the rescue
Sibongile Thusi’s (43) ordeal began on Wednesday morning, September 4, when she was allegedly assaulted by two teen boys and their mothers, in her home in Windmill Park Extension Nine.
According to Thusi, the implicated women form part of a recycling project in the community, and the assault took place following an alleged dispute.
Thusi suffered hip injuries and was temporarily placed in a wheelchair after being kicked and beaten with bricks.
Her first stop was the Dawn Park Police Station which, she thought, would be a safe haven of support.
However, according to Sibongile, this was not the case.
“The investigating officer was very rude to me and did not talk to or treat me with respect,” she says.
“He told me that he could not make any arrests as there was no J88 form attached to the docket.”
Sibongile, at the time, did not know what a J88 form was.
According to the South African Medical Journal, a J88 is an official form issued by the Department of Justice, which documents the medico-legal examination that the healthcare practitioner performs on a victim.
Findings are highlighted that are potentially relevant for legal purposes.
“I was sent back and forth between the hospital and the police station, trying to get the J88 form, to no avail,” Sibongile explains.
She then resorted to calling the station commander of Dawn Park police station almost three weeks after the incident, on September 29, to try to establish what the delay was with her case.
“I was told to send an SMS detailing the events of the incident, which I did,” says Sibongile.
With no response from the station commander, Sibongile’s last resort was to involve the media, more than a month after her assault.
The Advertiser followed up on the allegations and a meeting was held between the victim and members from the station, to attempt to resolve the matter.
The station has since requested that Sibongile write an official letter of complaint, so that an in-house investigation of the matter can take place.
