Buziwe Nocuze
A trip to the shop to buy sweets and chips became a nightmare for two sisters, aged four and eight, when the shopkeeper doused them with paraffin.
It’s alleged that after the girls from De Doorns in the Western Cape bought their snacks, the shopkeeper, unprovoked, poured paraffin over their heads.
Their mother, who didn’t want to be named, told Scrolla.Africa she was called to the shop by other kids who told her what had happened.
When she got to the shop, people were trying to help her daughters take off their paraffin-soaked clothes.
“They were hysterical, I was furious. My little girls were crying and scratching because their bodies were itching,” she said.
Emergency services were called to the scene by the community members and the kids were rushed to the local hospital for medical treatment.
The victim’s mother wants answers from the shopkeeper. She fears it is going to happen again.
“What if he wanted to set them on fire?” she asked.
After the kids returned from the hospital the furious mother confronted the shopkeeper. The only answer she got was that he was sorry. She still doesn’t know why he poured paraffin on her kids.
She is not happy with the explanation and hopes the cops will do a better job.
“What was he planning to do after pouring the paraffin on them, and why does he have so much hate towards kids, who only went to the shop to buy sweets and chips?” asked the mother.
Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, a spokesperson for Western Cape police, said the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
“According to reports, the owner of a local shop in Stofland assaulted two minors,” said Swartbooi.
He said medical personnel transported the minors to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Swartbooi said the suspect in the matter has not been arrested and the police are investigating a case of common assault.
