Business robbery report to police goes unanswered

The robbery took place on Sunday at about 16:30, and the four robbers – one with a firearm – managed to get away with R16 466 in cash.

No one was injured during the incident. The robbers fled on foot.

When approached by Lowvelder, the manager of the business, Vernon Allan, as well as Jacques Meiring, the owner of Divergent Ops, the security company for El Madre Motors, confirmed that the police had not attended the scene on Sunday, despite the fact that Divergent Ops contacted them on 10111 shortly after the robbery had occurred.

A recording of the phone call to the police is in the newspaper’s possession. The SAPS initially denied that they had been contacted on the Sunday evening after the robbery.

An initial release from the police stated that they were only informed of the incident on Monday morning. According to the release, they had attended the scene the morning after the robbery and a business robbery case was opened; no arrests had been made at that point.

After Lowvelder made the recording of the 10111 call available to the police, Col Donald Mdluli, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga SAPS, issued another release, stating “police management in the province has learned with great concern of the alleged misconduct whereby a report of a business robbery that occurred in Mbombela on Sunday April 4, is said to have been handled improperly ”.

“It is said that the matter was brought to the attention of police, but reportedly never reached the relevant members who were supposed to have attended the complaint. This has led to the complaint (of the robbery) being received late and subsequently attended to too late.

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“Police management views this incident in a very serious light, hence an internal investigation has now been instituted to establish what has really transpired and drastic action will be taken against the responsible member or members.

“The management also want to indicate that complaints of criminal activities reported to police should be attended to with a sense of urgency, and should at all times be handled in a serious and professional manner.

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“All members are expected to toe the line and live up to such standards. Unprofessional behaviour will not be tolerated and we encourage communities to alert commanders and the management whenever they experience ill treatment from any member,” Mdluli said.

Allan said he wanted to commend the staff of the filling station for the way they handled an extremely difficult situation. “Both staff members are back at work and it is business as usual at El Madre Motors,” he said.