A suspect is roaming Pretoria, including Centurion, targeting properties on show that he can view with the estate agents to rob the house from small items.
According to police spokesperson Ilze Jones, a few cases have been reported at the Wierdabrug police station in the past month.
Tania Viljoen claimed a man who viewed her home last week Tuesday stole jewellery out of her bedroom during a house viewing including a ring worth R80 000.
According to Viljoen, the client was left unattended by the estate agents from Centurion, who accompanied him to her house. As she could not be at the home due to other obligations, she asked her domestic worker to give the agents access.
“I was contacted by the estate agent to arrange access to the house to view it with a client. As this is a common occurrence, I arranged with my domestic worker for them to gain access to the house, as I was not available to be home during the viewing time asked for. The agent indicated that the client was from out of town and was only available on Tuesday to view properties. Apparently he had identified our home to view – again nothing uncommon,” Viljoen said.
According to Viljoen the visit took place as scheduled. Access to their property was granted firstly through their security gates at the entrance to the residential estate and thereafter by her domestic worker into their house.
Viljoen said the client was taken through the property by the agents. “Thereafter the problems started. My domestic worker claimed the two agents were chatting in the kitchen and dining room area and left the client unattended for an extended period to wander through the house alone,” she said.
No other clients visited the house on that day, Viljoen confirmed.
It was only the following morning when Viljoen realised that her jewellery on her dressing table had been stolen. The total value of the stolen jewellery is R90 000. “I brought it to the attention of the agents who did not give me a satisfactory response. They insinuated that it could have been the domestic worker, because she was also in the house at the time of the incident,” Viljoen said.
According to Viljoen it is unlikely as the worker has been working for her for longer than ten years and they never had anything disappear from their home.
“The circumstantial evidence draws me to the conclusion that the client who was left unattended is the only one that could have taken the goods. There is no recourse for us, because guilt cannot be proven. Surely it is an estate agent rule not to leave clients unattended while viewing is taking place – given the crime ridden country we live in,” Viljoen said.
Viljoen said estate agents should be warned of this man who might try tricks at other properties. “The jewellery taken was very selective and only the most valuable was taken,” she said.
According to Jones no suspects in this regard were arrested. “There is no reason to believe the other cases are related to each other, but it seems there is a trend,” she added.
