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Police refuses to attend scenes or open cases

Hendrina residents claim they have to deal with a slack police force who often bluntly refuses to attend scenes or open cases.

August 1, 2018

Tobie van den Bergh 2 minutes read

The most recent incident saw a local security company, together with police officers from another precinct, track down and arrest armed robbery suspects, after Hendrina Police officers refused to help.

Queens Bottle Store, owned and operated by a Chinese national and his daughter, was robbed. Four armed men stormed the business, held people at gunpoint and pistol-whipped a woman, only known as Sumei, over the head. They fled with a large amount of cash, cigarettes and a cellphone.

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A Vossies Security officer was the first person on the scene. The police were called but they said that they cannot come to the scene as they did not have a vehicle.
Johan de Vos, owner of Vossies, said that they went to the police station to open a case, but police asked if they knew with which vehicle the robbers had fled in. When they replied that they did not, police refused to open a case. The owner of the business also went to the police station after the ordeal and was not helped.

Security officers then followed up on the leads at the crime scene themselves. Information led them to a house in Ferrobank in eMalahleni. Two suspects, still in possession of the cash, cigarettes and cellphone, were arrested with the help of the Vosman police.

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Vossies Security officers returned to Hendrina and once again tried to open a case in order to get the suspects transferred from Vosman. After a long struggle, a case was finally registered.

“We are fed up with the police. They simply refuse to help you,” a resident said.
The man, who did not want his name mentioned, said that police keep using the excuse that they have no vehicles available. This after they have been ordered to accompany cash-in-transit vehicles travelling through their precinct.

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• There was mention that one of the men arrested has since been connected with cases in Carolina, Breyten, Badplaas and Ermelo. He is currently in custody and appeared in the Hendrina Magistrate Court.

• Brig. Leonard Hlathi, provincial police spokesperson, said that he will take the matter up with the Hendrina Police Station commander.

• Const. Vusi David Nyandeni of the Hendrina Police was arrested and charged with stock theft in June. This after farmers in the area followed up on information and found a suspicious vehicle with bloody ears and a pair of scissors used to cut the tags out of cattle’s ears. Three stolen calves were later found in a kraal.

Nyandeni is currently out on R3 000 bail.