In the early hours of the morning on 25 July, a group used a cutting torch to remove a section of palisade fence that forms part of the boundary between the Field and Study Park and the Riverside Stables in Parkmore. They loaded the fence pieces onto the back of the bakkie.
However, a vagrant living in the bushes nearby spotted the light from the torch and was suspicious, reported Rose Johnson, chairperson of the Friends of the Field and Study Park. He alerted a stable hand who called ADT. The suspects knew that they had been seen and fled, abandoning their bakkie.
ADT Community Development Manager Pieter Venter said, “ADT Reaction Officer Leonard Nkomo arrived on the scene but could not find the suspects. Later, while he was patrolling the area, he stopped and questioned a man who said he was looking for his vehicle – the same bakkie abandoned at the crime scene. Officer Nkomo immediately apprehended the suspect and contacted the Sandton police. The fencing was recovered.”
Johnson said, “Today’s help yourself society! Need a piece of fence? Just take from where you can. Whether it belongs to someone else is irrelevant! This is the the story of Field and Study. Cables, electrics, hand basins, light fittings, handles… We have to monitor the park on a daily basis.”
