Ministry of Transport and Public Works Appeals to Public to Help Identify Taxi Driver

The Ministry of Transport and Public Works is appealing to any member of the public who may have witnessed an alleged brutal assault on a woman in Phillippi by a taxi driver.

The assault took place at approximately 17:00 on Friday, 22 June 2012, at the corner of Eisleben and Lansdowne Roads.

The woman hailed a taxi. Seeing that there were only men in the taxi which stopped, she apologised to the driver and declined to enter it. The taxi driver allegedly shouted at her, got out of his taxi, then began a brutal assault on her for "wasting his time", striking her repeatedly with his fists before driving away.

The taxi driver is a Xhosa male who drives a white Toyota Avanza or similar amaphela-type taxi with strongly tinted windows. The driver may regularly tout for business on Eisleben Road and surrounds.

"It is hard to adequately describe how appalling this crime is. A woman declines to enter a public transport vehicle, which should be a safe place for all people, because she fears for her safety. As a result, she is brutally assaulted. We need to find this taxi driver, and I appeal to anyone who may have witnessed these events or have any knowledge of the incident to come forward as soon as possible," said Hector Eliott, Head of Ministry of Transport and Public Works.

Mr Eliott can be contacted via telephone on 021 483 2200, cell or SMS on 083 669 9609, e-mail on hector.eliott@westerncape.gov.za or Twitter @hectoreliott. All contact will be kept confidential.