A case of common robbery is being investigated after two women tricked and robbed a mother of her handbag, at the Festival Mall, on Saturday afternoon.
The woman was shopping with her two daughters, aged six and nine, at the Woolworths store at about 3pm, when the incident occurred.
According to the father of the children, the mother was approached by two women.
“One of them first spoke to her, telling her that she is the manager at the shop and offered to get her the clothes at a 50 per cent staff price discount,” the father explained.
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The mother then went with the woman to one of the shop’s clothing racks to look through the items. At this point she had given her eldest daughter her handbag to hold.
“As they were looking through the clothes with one of the women, the other one walked out of the shop with our daughters. Somehow the woman had managed to convince my daughters that she knew their mother,” the father added.
When the mother turned around to check on the kids, they were already gone; and she ran out of the shop screaming. By the time she ran back inside to check for the other woman, she was already gone, too.
“In the meanwhile, she had gone outside to meet with the other woman, who had taken the kids. They told my elder daughter that their mother needed her handbag to pay for the clothes. Not knowing it was all a scam, my daughter handed them the bag and they disappeared.”
The mother’s handbag contained her ID, driver’s licence, cellphone, bank cards and R2 000 in cash.
Just a few minutes later, R3 000 was withdrawn from her bank account.
The mother found the girls at the Wimpy entrance to the mall.
According to Kempton SAPS spokesperson Capt Jethro Mtshali, a case of common robbery is being investigated and police have also urged people to be extra vigilant while doing their shopping at malls, as they might also become the targets of thieves.
