A woman from Newlands West in KwaZulu-Natal was attacked and robbed shortly after meeting a man for the first time since she accepted his friend request on Facebook.

At approximately 18:58 on Wednesday, a member of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) was on patrol on Amora Drive in Mountview when he was flagged down by the public requesting assistance for the woman.

The 28-year-old woman explained that she had been chatting with an individual on the social media platform for just over a month. On Wednesday, she boarded a taxi and met him at the Verulam taxi rank.

Started feeling dizzy

He asked her to accompany him to a friend's house, which was within walking distance. After she agreed they stopped at a garage where he bought her a bottle of water. After drinking the water, she claimed that she started feeling dizzy.

She could not confirm if the bottle of water was sealed before he handed it to her. While taking a shortcut, she stopped to urinate in a pathway when the man allegedly hit her on her head with a rock. He then allegedly attempted to rape her, but when she started screaming for help, he stole her handbag containing two cellphones, a tablet and her wallet and fled in an unknown direction.

Residents who heard the woman's screams went to her assistance. RUSA medics assessed the traumatised victim and found that she had sustained a laceration to her head from the assault.

Reaction officers conducted a search for the suspect; however, he still remains at large.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane could not be reached for comment.