The case against two men accused of attacking three people during Uber rides was provisionally withdrawn and the suspects released on Monday evening, police confirmed.
“The case against the two suspects was provisionally withdrawn for further investigation. Once we complete our investigation, we will take it back to court. The two suspects were let go this afternoon,” police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini said.
Dlamini said the prosecution was not satisfied with the evidence and had declined to put the case on the court roll.
“The prosecution indicated we need more information to place the docket on the court roll. The prosecution was unhappy. We need to do further investigation to take it back to the roll,” he added.
On 16 July, it was reported that a woman was attacked and raped after getting into what she thought was an Uber taxi in Fourways, Johannesburg. A case of rape, kidnapping and robbery was opened afterwards.
In August, it was reported that a couple was attacked after ordering an Uber ride home via the service’s mobile app from the Movida nightclub in Sunninghill in the early morning hours.
A friend said that the couple made frequent use of the Uber app and paid attention to the details, including the type of vehicle and driver, as provided by the app.
Shortly after departing, two men hiding in the boot pushed the back seats forward and got into the front of the car and stabbed the man while his girlfriend was bundled into the boot. She was also allegedly raped. The incident happened on the William Nicol Drive offramp.