A 20-year-old female student, who claimed she was kidnapped from the Hatfield Square and gang-raped by four men, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of defeating the ends of justice, police said.

Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the police established that the woman’s allegations and several statements taken from the witnesses had conflicting information about the kidnapping and rape incidents.

The student stated that she was abducted from an underground parking lot after a night out with friends in Hatfield Square. She added that she was pushed into a bakkie and taken to an unknown place where she was gang-raped before the alleged rapists dropped her off in Sandton on Sunday morning.

“It was established that she was never kidnapped but left Hatfield Square with friends to go to Sandton where she was allegedly separated from the group for a period of time. It was also established that she was not raped,” Dlamini said.

Dlamini added that making a false statement under oath to the police is a punishable offence.

“Crimes against women and children are a police priority and rape incidents are treated very seriously. Her allegations took police away from real investigations and wasted valuable resources,” said Dlamini.

The woman is expected to appear in the Hatfield Community Court in January.

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