Business in Industrial Area robbed

A business in Riverside Industria Area fell victim to an armed robbery last Monday evening.

According to Captain Shooz Magudulela, a case of armed robbery has been opened, but it could not be confirmed how many men were involved.

Allegedly, four armed men entered the business’s premises before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Alex Liu from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce who runs a business in Gutenberg Street, stated that this was the first robbery he had heard about in two months in the Industrial Area.

“The open land between Gutenberg Street and Albert Wessels Road has been an issue for a while, as it offers criminals a place to hide and escape,” said Mr Liu.

However, he said that there was a ray of hope.

“I heard the municipality will be putting up a high mast light in the area, which will make it harder for criminals to hide. A total of three such lights was requested to help minimise the chances of criminals escaping,” said Mr Liu.

According to Strategic Executive Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Lindile Zincume, the municipality has allocated a high mast light for the Industrial Area as promised by the mayor following a request from the business chamber representatives.

Mr Zincume confirmed business chambers asked the mayor during one of his roadshows for better lighting in the area.

“In areas where there are no streets it usually better to install high mast lighting. At this stage one high mast is earmarked for installation,” said Mr Zincume.

Mr Zincume said the lighting might not completely flush out criminals, but would serve as a good deterrent.

Mr Liu urged businesses in the area to make use of security guards and panic buttons.

“Chinese business owners in the Industrial Area have installed a radio system to communicate with each other if something happens,” said Mr Liu.

The reason for this, he said, was rather simple.

“The worst thing that can happen in an armed robbery, is that the perpetrator stays with you for a long time. The longer he stays, the more damage can be caused. However, if the perpetrator knows someone is coming to help, they will not stay long at all and the damage will be minimal.”