Woman robbed of cellphone and purse while doing her shopping
When she realised she was being followed after she withdrew money from an ATM at China Mall.
POLOKWANE – When she realised she was being followed by a man while she was shopping at a shopping centre on Saturday, her first instinct was to try and shake him off.
But Madeleine Olckers’ strategy did not work and the man snatched her cellphone and purse out of her hand and he fled the shopping centre.
Olckers said she withdrew money from an ATM at China Mall and then went on to one of the stores where she wished to purchase some items. At the second store she wanted to shop at, she realised that a man was following her. “When I walked up the one aisle he came down the next aisle; he made eye contact with me every time as if he was trying to tell me that I was in his sights,” Olckers said.
She said she tried to shake the man off at the next two stores she went into, but he kept following her and when she walked around a corner, he was suddenly close to her, and grabbed her cellphone and purse before fleeing from the shopping centre.
Olckers said she was overcome with shock at that moment, and it was only after a while that she could think straight and report the matter to the security guard at the door, but by that time, the man was long gone.
“You always think you will know what to do in such a situation, but when it happens you are just so overwhelmed that it is difficult to think straight,” she said.
According to the wife of China Mall manager, Henry Cheu, he was out of the country and unable to comment. She further said no one else had authority to act or comment on his behalf, and declined to give her name.
Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, said there had been a few reports of person-to-person robberies over the past few months.
“The common denominator in these incidents is that each victim withdrew a large amount of cash from an ATM before they were robbed. It is thought that the robbers watch the ATMs to identify a potential victim, follow their victim and then rob them at an opportune time,” Ramoshaba explained.
He further said the police were maintaining high visibility near ATMs, but criminals had moved their activities to parking areas, businesses and shopping centres where they were out of sight of the police. Residents should avoid withdrawing large amounts of money and placing themselves in harm’s way. Where possible, residents should only make use of card payments or electronic payments to avoid such incidents,” he advised.
Olckers said she had not reported the robbery to the police as she could not remember what the man looked like. Ramoshaba said all crimes should be reported to the police.
