MOGOENG J The application of the K test [51] Mr van Wyk did not rape Ms F in the furtherance of the constitutional mandate of his employer. He was not, and could not have been, ordered by his employer to do so. He acted in pursuit of his own selfish interests. Accordingly, the first leg of the K test, which is subjective, does not establish state liability here. What remains to be considered is whether the requirements of the second leg of the test are met. [52] As O‘Regan J stated in K, the second question ―does not raise purely factual questions, but mixed questions of fact and law.‖37 Accordingly, several interrelated factors have an important role to play in addressing the question whether the Minister is vicariously liable for the delictual conduct of Mr van Wyk. The normative components that point to liability must here, as K indicated, be expressly stated. They are: the state‘s constitutional obligations to protect the public; the trust that the public is entitled to place in the police; the significance, if any, of the policeman having been off duty and on standby duty; the role of the simultaneous act of the policeman‘s commission of rape and omission to protect the victim; and the existence or otherwise of an intimate link between the policeman‘s conduct and his employment. All these elements complement one another in determining the state‘s vicarious liability in this matter. I deal with them in the same order below. The state’s constitutional obligations [53] The state has a general duty to protect members of the public from violations of 37 Id at para 32. 20