During a home invasion in South Africa, an armed r0bb£r pushed a four-year-old girl into a washing machine and tried to turn it on.

The incident took place early on Wednesday morning, December 31, 2025, in Hazelmere, KZN. 

Following the arrival of four suspects posing as police officers, the child’s mother, a 29-year-old Malawian national, had both her home and the tuck shop next door r0bbed.

Despite the woman running a grocery tuck shop, they allegedly displayed SAPS name tags and badges and accused her of drug dealing despite her civilian attire.

While the other suspects looted the house and shop, one of them produced a gun, and another had a knife.

A flash machine, a bag of cabbage, packs of Russian sausages, multiple cartons of cigarettes, the victim’s cellphone, an undisclosed quantity of coins, and about R200 in cash were all taken.

One of the suspects put the four-year-old child inside a washing machine during the ordeal and made an unsuccessful attempt to turn it on.

The child and her siblings aged nine (9) and three (3) were not physically harmed. The victim was unable to contact authorities immediately as her cellphone was stolen.

Community members later assisted her and Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) was contacted on Wednesday. 

The victim also informed Reaction Officers that she was robbed previously on 26 December 2025.