NEWCASTLE – A resident recently found his work cellphone missing and felt his stomach drop.
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“There are a lot of contacts on the phone and if they can’t get hold of me or if I don’t respond to their messages or calls, I will lose business.”
Trying to locate it, he retraced his steps.
“I had dropped my nine-year-old sister off at school that morning, so I went to the school to see if she had it.”
However, his sibling denied having the phone.
Suspecting it was stolen, the resident went to the police station to open a case.
“Before most cellphone providers track your phone, they want to see a case has been opened, so I went to start the process.”
Instead of finding a solution to his problem, he was met with more obstacles.
“I was told by police that I could not open a case, as I had not been robbed.”
Not able to make sense of the lack of interest shown by the police, he returned to work.
That night, it was discovered his sister had indeed taken the phone to school.
“She might have wanted to show it to her friends and did not realise how serious it was. But what if she did not have it? I would not get my phone back because the police did not want to open a case.”
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Lizzy Arumugam, SAPS Corporate Communications, said by right the charge desk should have opened a case and encouraged the resident to take the matter up with higher authorities at the station.
