A Muizenberg couple was arrested on Monday morning [May 4] and will appear in court on August 6 after their toddler ran onto the beach, forcing them to contravene lockdown rules to pick her up.
Muizenberg residents Liam Bulgen and fiancée, Tereza Cervinkova, were strolling along the Muizenberg boardwalk on Monday morning in the middle of the promenade before the incident occurred.
“My fiancée wanted some space so I thought I would just stop with my child who is 21-months-old and take her out of the carrier,” Bulgen told EWN.
“As I put her down out of the carrier, she literally just hopped over onto the beach and she managed to get about 1.5 metres onto the sand. I ran after her and grabbed her.
She made a scene. My partner came back because she heard her crying. We were literally in the process of dragging my child off the sand when we got arrested.”
Under lockdown level 4 regulations, no one is allowed to be on a beach.
In a Facebook post, Bulgen wrote that the couple were put into separate police vehicles and alleges that partner Cervinkova was pushed into a police van whilst breastfeeding, and without a car seat. He also told EWN that one of the police officers was not wearing a mask.
Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa verified the arrest to Cape Times, saying “This office confirms the arrest of two adult persons (man and woman), aged 38 and 36, in Muizenberg yesterday for contravention of the Disaster Management Act regulations.”
“They were briefly detained at Muizenberg SAPS and warned to appear in court on 6 August 2020. The arrests were effected on Muizenberg beach by the SAPS officials.”
Picture: Facebook / Liam Bungen