The Shoprite security guards who appeared in a video assaulting and handcuffing a woman after her daughter (3) apparently relieved herself outside the Usave Shoprite in Cosmo City have been suspended.
Usave Shoprite Cosmo City centre management tweeted a statement saying the guards have been suspended.
They said the incident is "regrettable and unfortunate".
"We have been alerted about the incident and are convinced this is not the way to treat customers especially in front of kids."
Gauteng MEC for community safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, who visited the store on Sunday accompanied by senior officials from the South African Police Service, said that one of the guards was already in custody, and the other two will be handed to the police.
It had also emerged that the security guards involved were not registered, she added.
Apparently, Thandi Shaparadzo's daughter attempted to answer a call of nature outside the shop, but Shaparadzo intervened and entered the shop, where three security guards - two men and a woman - confronted her, dragged her into a sitting position and handcuffed her, with the young girl screaming and trying to get to her mother.
A Facebook user, Thabiso Phinda, caught the episode on camera and shared a video on Facebook.
Phinda later accompanied Shaparadzo to a nearby police station, where she laid assault charges.