Taxi driver arrested for kidnapping and robbery
Members of the public who use public transport in the early hours of the morning and when they return home late in the evening are warned to take the following precautions before boarding any public transport.
Make sure you know your regular driver. Make sure that you travel with people you know and are familiar with.
When returning home from work, also make sure you travel with the passengers you know.ยท Wake up early and make sure you have everything you need before you leave home.
Always prepare everything you’ll need for the following day before going to bed. Be cautious and courteous and make sure you greet people you commute with in the morning.
According to the EMPD’s media spokesperson, Kobeli Mokheseng, this precaution follows a recent incident where an off-duty security employee of a popular food-chain supply store stopped an unknown minibus taxi in the early hours of the morning.
The man was on his way to Joburg where he was going to buy school uniform for his children in preparation for` the opening of schools opened on Tuesday.
He later explained to EMPD officers that as he got inside, there were already five other male passengers inside the taxi, including the driver.
As the minibus gathered speed and linked on to the N12, the man suddenly noticed a gun was pointed at him by one of his fellow passengers who then searched him and removed R2 050 cash from him.
The assailants then removed his cellphone, a bank card and demanded his PIN number before he was dropped off along the N12 freeway in the Bedfordview area.
Meanwhile, a few minutes later, EMPD Drunk Driving Enforcement Unit officers deployed on freeways noticed a white Toyota Quantum minibus taxi quickly dropping off four male commuters along the N12 freeway in the direction of Germiston.
Since this is illegal, the officers managed to stop the minibus taxi with the intention of issuing the driver with a citation for stopping on the freeway and offloading passengers.
While the EMPD officers were busy talking to the driver about the violation and were getting ready to issue him with a fine, an agitated and almost out-of-breath pedestrian in uniform was running towards them and shouting as he waved his hands in the air.
He was shouting and pleading with the officers to arrest the driver. Finally, as the man reached the officers and the taxi driver, he immediately related his ordeal of how he was robbed by men travelling in that taxi.
He explained how he was robbed of his bank card and forced to give out his PIN number inside the taxi before he was dumped on the side of the N12 highway.
Immediately, the 25-year-old taxi driver was arrested and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. He was handcuffed and escorted to Bedfordview SAPS who took over the investigation.
Paramedics were summoned to the scene and the victim was thoroughly checked on site and treated for shock.
The arrested suspect made an appearance in the Germiston Magistrate?s Court where the case was remanded to a later date, pending further investigations.
Hi Leshnee, can we use a photo of a taxi for illustration
