Two men have been arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a community activist to persuade the parents of a 10-year-old rape victim to drop the charges.
“The suspects, both foreign nationals, reportedly tried to bribe the local community activist in Namakgale to influence the parents of a 10-year-old child who was allegedly raped by their fellow Bangladeshi friend, Hossain Akter, to drop the charges,” Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, the Limpopo police spokesperson said.
The girl was allegedly raped by the suspects’ friend in May. “The 10-year-old child went to the suspect’s shop in Namakgale on Sunday 8 May at about 11am to buy an airtime voucher. Instead of serving her, the suspect locked the door and raped the child inside. He thereafter let her go.”
Mojapelo said the rape incident was reported to the police and the man was arrested on the same day in his shop. The Bangladeshi national appeared in court and his case was postponed to June 20 for further police investigation.
“The two suspects allegedly offered to pay the activist an amount of money to use his influence to convince the parents to withdraw the charges against their fellow countryman. After paying a portion of the money, members of the provincial anti-corruption unit immediately pounced on the two suspects and arrested them,” said Mojapelo.
The suspects will appear in the Phalaborwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Source: News24, IOL, image from IOL
