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Man assaults woman in alleged racist incident

Cape Town - A man from Cape Town’s southern suburbs has appeared in court this past week for allegedly assaulting a woman who was walking to work because he thought she was a prostitute.

Cynthia Joni, 44, told the Cape Argus she was walking through Kenilworth on her way to work when a man leapt out of a car and, without any explanation, slapped her and threw her to the ground.

Joni, a domestic worker, said the man, 41-year-old Tim Osrin, would pick her up each time after she had fallen and throw her hard onto the ground again. Then suddenly Osrin drove away, only turning back to shout at someone who had come to Joni’s aid that she was “a criminal”.

Osrin, who owns a swimming school and is a well-known cyclist, explained to the newspaper that he thought Joni was a prostitute and that was why he assaulted her without provocation.

He said he tried contacting her to explain his actions but she wouldn’t speak to him. Osrin says he doesn’t understand why he is being “victimised” but did feel “terrible” the day of the incident.

Osrin claims he only slapped her once and says he doesn’t know why she “trumped up” her injuries and suggested it might be because she wants money from him.    

The Argus was alerted to the incident after one of Joni’s employer’s posted about it on Facebook.

“I look forward to seeing him in the dock and charged with being the criminal that he is,” wrote Sheila Wilson in a post.

The SA Human Rights Commission noted in July that there had been a notable spike in race-related incidents in the country, Sapa reports.

"The SAHRC remains deeply concerned about the lack of transformation taking place in South African society 20 years into its democratic dispensation," he said.

In the 2013/14 financial year, 45% of the commission's complaints were race-related.

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