Westenburg woman targeted by thief thrice in one week
Renay Loin told Bonus that during the third break-in, the thief raided her refrigerator and cupboards and took her groceries.
POLOKWANE – A resident from Westenburg has had her home broken into three times in one week, and is frankly getting fed-up with the situation. Renay Loin said last Monday afternoon, she noticed that the doors to her vehicle were open. She had not used the car on the day, and upon closer inspection found her vehicle’s boot and bonnet tampered with.
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“All my car mats were missing and the door handles had been broken from the inside.”
She told BONUS she does not know how the perpetrator managed to unlock her vehicle. The said she immediately notified the Westenburg Police, who told her a car would be dispatched to her home. This she said, never realised. While at work the next day, Loin received a phone call from her neighbours, telling her to return home as her home had been broken into.
“When I got home, I found that one of the windows had been smashed and was used to gain entry into my house.” Her passport and some jewellery items were missing, among others. “Some of the items that were stolen have sentimental value, as the people whom I received it from have passed on,” she said.
Loin informed the police of the second incident but said she waited the entire afternoon for assistance. On Wednesday morning, she made her way to the police station to formally lay a charge. “The police promised to come to the house and check for fingerprints but they never came. I then cleaned up and replaced the window.”
Much to her surprise, her home was broken into on Friday afternoon and by this time, Loin suspected it to be the same perpetrator as the fixed window was neatly removed. “The person peeled off the putty to remove the window. He then raided the refrigerator, and cupboards and took my groceries.”
Loin told BONUS the groceries are paid for with stokvel money and cannot be replaced. She once again reported this to the police, who she said arrived only on Monday with their forensic team to lift fingerprints.
Identified by a stolen item that was only available from one merchandiser in the area, the police made their way to a suspect’s home earlier this week. According to Loin, no one was arrested as the man was not at home when they arrived there.”The suspect has been identified and the police are looking for him. They took me to the suspect’s home this morning, unfortunately, he was not home.”
A second date was then determined on which they would visit the suspected perpetrator’s home. According to Const David Nkuna, the police are responding to calls as quickly as possible. Should residents have a complaint, they should approach the police station so that it can be investigated, he said.
