The store, situated at the Middelburg Mall, was ransacked by a group of burglars just shy of 18:30, after they forcefully ripped the doors open, and cleared the store of cellphones and laptops well over thousands of rands.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows how the group of burglars calmly looted the shop, whilst alarm sirens were blaring and then walked out in full view of one of the cameras, without a response from the mall’s security.

Also read: Burglars flee with cellphones and laptops

The brazen courage of the burglars, has raised the eyebrows of members of the public, who are now questioning the safety of the mall.

The manager of Middelburg Mall, Mr Mike Tammage, has assured the mall’s tenants as well as customers, that safety of the public remains the Mall’s primary concern.

Mr Tammage has confirmed that the police is investigating the security guard who was assigned to patrol the area, and his involvement in the break-in.

“We are only as good as our guards on the ground and therefore we are doing everything in our power to look into the matter,” Mr Tammage said.

“It was later discovered that the guard spent over 45 minutes in the toilet and it’s suspected that he met with some of the suspects. Protocol dictates that in a scenario where a guard needs to leave his post, he needs to inform his supervisor beforehand, so that a stand in can be arranged to take his place. The guard has been suspended and is facing criminal charges whilst police is busy with an ongoing investigation.”