KARACHI: A South African domestic worker in Phoenix, Durban was allegedly raped last week by two men who are said to be Pakistani nationals, police said Wednesday.

An official of the South African Police Services (Saps), who requested anonymity, confirmed the Feb 26 incident in a telephonic conversation with Dawn and said that one of the perpetrators, identified as Ali Raza, 24, was arrested. The second man managed to escape.

The accused men are said to be running small businesses in Phoenix.

The Saps official quoted the victim as saying that she was contacted by her Pakistani employer to iron clothes for two of his friends.

After meeting with the woman, who officials say is unmarried and 35 years of age, the employer took her to his friends' house, the victim said.

The domestic worker alleged that while she was ironing clothes, one of the men flung her on the bed and raped her. After finishing the act, he called his friend in the room who also raped her.

The woman claimed that in the midst of the second assault, her employer came by to check on her, and upon discovering that she was being subjected to sexual assault, fought with his friends to have her released.

The victim registered a complaint at the Phoenix police station, police confirmed.

South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates. It is often labelled the rape capital of the world. "The prevalence of rape, and particularly multiple perpetrator rape is unusually high," according to a 2012 report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank.

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Rape also remains one of the most under-reported crimes in SA.