Police investigate after four-year-old boy is filmed being forced to drink beer

Four children between the ages of seven-months and 11-years-old have been removed by the Department of Social Development (DSD) and a criminal case of child abuse has been registered by police with no arrests at this stage after a video circulated of a four-year-old boy being forced to drink beer.

The shocking video shows the little boy squatting on the ground, holding the bottle of beer in one hand and a glass in the other.

He is seen drinking a glass of the beer and is being told by a male person to drink it: "Sluk, sluk, (drink it, swallow it).The boy is visibly sickened by the taste and puts on a brave face and proceeds to pour another glass of the beer and then passes it to the man. The man can be heard laughing.

Numerous bottles of the beer can be seen standing around the child whose legs also seem to be badly bruised including his arms.

On Thursday, police spokesperson, Captain FC Van Wyk confirmed that when the alarm was raised, SAPS together with DSD responded.

Whistleblowers however challenged SAPS response, citing a senior police official who did not take the matter seriously, claiming the father of the child said he did not drink and that he did not allow the boy to consume the beverage - this after officers carried out a home visit.

DSD has since confirmed that the matter is under investigation. "A child abuse case was registered for investigation at Mitchells Plain SAPS. This case was transferred to Mitchells Plain Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS)," Van Wyk said.

"Four children aged between seven months and 11 years were removed by personnel attached to the Department of Social Development and placed in the care of safety parents. These kids were also taken to Thutuzela Centre for medical examination. "Investigation continues, no arrest yet.

"Police did not respond to claims of inactions of their senior official. In response to the video and following a visit to the premises, DSD said it condemned this type of behaviour, where adults allow children to consume and handle alcohol.

"The effects of alcohol on children can be serious and lifelong. Alcohol consumption can impact brain development and can lead to emotional and behavioural issues," DSD said."If people know of instances where adults allow children to consume alcohol, they should report it to their nearest DSD office, designated child protection organisation, or SAPS.

With the festive season starting, we urge all adults to act responsibly while caring for children." DSD cannot provide the details of a current child protection matter, however, social workers are investigating.

If a report of child abuse and/or neglect is received, social workers conduct a risk and safety assessment, which determines the type of the intervention."

DSD added there has been a general increase in the number of children in need of care and protection. In 2023, there were just over 39 000 children in foster care in the province. That number has increased to more than 43 000 in 2024.

In response to the allegations of poor police action: "It is disturbing to hear that the SAPS allegedly refused to respond to this matter, as they are required to do as per the Children's Act when receiving reports of alleged child abuse.

We have requested the Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety to look into this serious allegation".Whistleblower, Zona Morton who raised the alarm, said police officers need to be educated regarding the Children's Act and child protection.

"If one cannot reach out in the middle of the night to the SAPS, and get a nonchalant response, they did not even assess (Wednesday night prior to DSD and SAPS second visit) whether the children are safe.

"The way in which the colonel responded to my plea, to ascertain that the child is safe, you can see on the video that the child was forced to consume alcohol."It is disgusting that this is during the 16 Days of Activism of no violence against women and children."

Nicholas Gotsell MP - DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice said they were horrified by the incident and called for accountability for SAPS members who allegedly did not respond immediately: "What makes this worse is that, despite electronic evidence and urgent reports from the public, Mitchell's Plain SAPS allegedly failed to respond speedily. Such inaction, in the face of a child at immediate risk, is unacceptable and borders on dereliction of duty.

SAPS failed to act according to the Children's Act and did not take action or any child protection measures. When the safety of a young child hangs in the balance, SAPS cannot afford hesitation or indifference." 

The video comes just weeks after the Cape Argus's article of a similar video in Woodstock where a mother was filmed feeding her toddler alcohol, which led to a SAPS investigation and action by DSD.

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