Cape Town – A tourist who was stabbed repeatedly on Noordhoek Beach in Cape Town is in a stable condition in hospital, the Table Mountain Watch said on Sunday, while also urging more awareness for tourists of crime hotspots.
"There have been 17 attacks in 70 days," said Table Mountain Watch spokesperson Andre van Schalkwyk, in reference to crimes committed throughout the Table Mountain National Park area.
This vicinity stretches from the actual site of Table Mountain itself, all the way down to Cape Point.
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In the most recent attack, a male Egyptian tourist was stabbed in a robbery at Long Beach in Noordhoek on Saturday night.
"Most of the wounds were superficial," said Van Schalkwyk, adding that the visitor to the Cape was now recovering in a local hospital.
His attack was one of eight that have happened at the same beach over the last two months.
On Sunday, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said that the 39-year-old stabbing victim had his wallet, documents and keys to a rental car stolen from him.
Visible policing, proactive approach needed
The car has subsequently been located and brought to the hospital, and the City’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism was assisting the tourist further, said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon in a statement.
According to Table Mountain Watch, in 2017 there were 40 attacks in the Table Mountain area, involving 91 victims – the highest number of victims recorded since this set of statistics first started being gathered in 1998.
In that year, there was only one attack, involving one victim.
Van Schalkwyk said that a more proactive approach was needed to prevent these kinds of attacks.
"There is nothing on the beach that indicates to a poor tourist [that it is a crime hotspot]."
While it was understandable that tourist officials might believe it would be damaging to do so, Van Schalkwyk suggested that the media attention after an attack was probably even more off-putting for potential visitors to the Cape.
More visible policing was needed, as was the active pursuit of suspects towards arrest, he said.
Van Schalkwyk listed the following areas as possible hotspots for crime across Table Mountain National Park, where caution needed to be exercised: Langkop, Schusterskraal, Redhill, Kleinplasie, Jonkersdam, Blackhill, Elsies Peak, Peers Cave, Echo Valley, Noordhoek Beach, Skoorsteenkop, Vlakkenberg, Hoerikwaggo trail, Karbonkelberg, Sandy Bay – Llandudno trail, as well as Signal Hill, Block House/Rhodes Memorial, Molteno Road to the lower cable station, Elephant’s Eye and Silvermine.
