A gang of three men is on a burglary rampage throughout the residential area. It has committed seven robberies plus another two. This brings the total of house burglaries to nine in 14 days.
Ms Ina Wentzel (78) was attacked by the three men on Tuesday at 15:30 in her home at Numbi Park. She was badly beaten in the face and her son Lood, who is a correspondent for Hazyview Herald, spoke to Lowvelder. “We believe the men must have been watching the house. I had to go out quickly and while I was away the attack took place,” says Wentzel.
“When our domestic worker went outside, the gang suddenly appeared and stormed into the house. They demanded money, my mother’s jewellery and cell phone. She cooperated, but they still punched her in the face. Our domestic worker ran up the street screaming for help. I think she saved my mother’s life because the criminals realised that with all the noise, they had better make a getaway.”
The Jacobs family who live just below Numbi Park, was attacked last Thursday, March 20 at 23:45. Once again it was three men who gained access by breaking through burglar bars. They were not wearing balaclavas but this time they had a double-barrel shotgun. The family was held at gunpoint while they forced them to hand over their valuables and open the safe.
“Our safe keys had gone missing about a week before,” says Ms Prudence Whittington, daughter of Mr Saan and Mrs Elsie Jacobs. “They forced us to break open the safe. A shot was fired into the kitchen. Afterwards they wanted to cuff us. I convinced them that they didn’t have time to do that as help was on the way. They had slapped me in the face a couple of times and pushed my mother around, but luckily no one was seriously injured.”
On Saturday March 15 the home of Ms Sonja Putter and Mr Roelof van der Merwe was burgled at 14:00 while they were at work. They were robbed a second time on Tuesday March 25 at 07:00. “Our home is just off the R40 near Ingati Flowers,” says Putter. “Luckily most of the stolen items were found in the veld. They must have dumped them there and planned to come back and collect them at a later stage.”
Ms Doulina and Mr Jannie le Grange were burgled on Friday March 14 between midnight and 03:00. “We were asleep and didn’t wake up,” says Le Grange. “Only the next morning did we realise what had happened.” They manage the Running Brave Spur at Perry’s Bridge and live at Mitserie Flats just off Stormvoël Road.
The flats were targeted again on Monday March 17 at 02:00 when they broke into another unit in the complex.
On Thursday,March 27, an attempted burglary took place at 04:45 in Korhaan Street in the residential area.
Mr Ken Robertson DA councillor communicated his frustration at the ongoing crime situation. “Hazyview needs the help of SAPS. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of despair after two and a half years of positive and open communication with them. I personally have to start gathering individual crime report cases, keeping incident reports or complaints simply to prove that Hazyview has a serious crime problem. It is not acceptable that the authorities state that security is the responsibility of the residents and lodge owners, when security gates are being bent open with crowbars, security guards overpowered and victims mercilessly being beaten by teams of armed men. Crime in Hazyview is not a rumour!”
The community must be aware of the fact that house robberies now take place during the day and not only at night, says Mr Hennie Potgieter, general operations, of Hi-Tech Security. “Residents must keep their properties locked and alarmed during the day when they are at work. At night, make sure your alarm is on before you go to bed.”
