A Cape Town family is desperate for help to bring their daughter who is being detained in Oman back home.

Chloe Collins (23) from Kraaifontein went to Oman for work earlier this year.

She was working in the hospitality industry in that country at the time.

But she has been in custody since 9 May and her family and legal representative back home say she is being wrongfully detained.

Lawyer Simone Carolissen said that Collins’ brother was suspected by Oman authorities of having been involved in a crime in that country before he returned to South Africa after also working there.

But she said he had not been charged with any crime and was currently receiving treatment at a local mental institution for schizophrenia.

“We don’t know what they are speaking about. We don’t have any charges. Any formal charges that have been made against Chloe, we have no idea”.

Now Carolissen said that authorities in that country were now demanding his return in exchange for his sister.

“What has come to light, though, is that they said they’ll release Chloe if we send her brother to Oman, which is not going to happen because we don’t know what she is being held for we don’t know what they are speaking about”.

Carolissen said they had reached out to various South African government departments for help but there had been no assistance.

“We’ve written to the Department of International Relations, to the Department of Justice, we’ve reached out to political parties but the buck has been passed.”