A tourist from the United Kingdom who visited Cape Town claims he was drugged at a popular restaurant in the V&A Waterfront after meeting a local woman at a soccer game.
Mark McKnight from Scotland said he was in the Mother City for a week and on May 3, he and a few Scottish pelle went to watch Cape Town City play at Cape Town Stadium, where he explained that a lady befriended them.
“I was in Cape Town for seven nights because I always wanted to do shark cage diving,” he told the Daily Voice.
“While at the game, I got chatting to a woman while with Scottish friends, she asked me to go on a sunset cruise on Thursday but we were too late and went to the restaurant.
“We agreed to go for a meal on May 4 at Life Grand [Cafe] where [I believe] she drugged my drink.
“Management got involved and V&A security made a report.
“I got taken away in an ambulance and was told that in the hospital that I had been drugged; there was only one woman I was with. I have heard she did the same to someone at the rugby at DHL Stadium at a club.”
Mark, who has since returned home, claimed that before he fell ill, the woman tried to convince him that he was gesuip and wanted to take him home.
Colleen Henderson, who rented her Green Point apartment to Mark during his stay, said she later went to the restaurant and was told that the vrou who befriended Mark also stole his geld while at the eatery.
“The management noticed that she took his money, apparently she went to the bar to buy them shooters and that could have been the opportunity she used to drug him.
“Management noticed that he was out of it and she insisted that he was drunk but the waiter said he was not drunk because he only had one glass of wine.
“She even accompanied him in the ambulance, probably to take more money.”
When the Daily Voice contacted the restaurant manager, who identified herself as Norma, she said she was “not comfortable” speaking to the media and first needed permission from the owner.
In an email to Mark, Jeanel Pieterse, Operations: Life Grand Cafe, said his behaviour became “abnormal” after he settled his bill and they decided to call an ambulance when he became unresponsive.
The restaurant only kept CCTV footage for five days, she added, but believes that the V&A Waterfront would have footage of various areas and could possibly assist.
Mark said that he registered a case at Cape Town Central SAPS.
In an email, a captain Y Kotze confirmed: “Your complaint was forwarded to the provincial office, where it will be registered and attended to and be booked out to an officer for further investigation from another station, and not Sea Point.
“[An] officer will schedule a meeting to address it.”
marsha.dean@inl.co.za