An eyewitness to Wednesday’s R1.3-million robbery at Galleria, Shirley Wassenaar, saw the whole drama unfold about 15 metres away from her, at the entrance to the banks.
She had walked back to her car, but when she saw her husband was still in the mall, she was on her way back in when the incident happened.
“It happened so quickly,” she said. “There were two men in the front of a dark grey BMW and a thin man wearing a white shirt got out of the back and started wrestling with the businessman. That was what caught my eye.”
According to Shirley, the thief managed to grab the money from the man she described as either Chinese or Japanese and jump back in the BMW.
“It took off with such a speed, with the tyres screeching – I couldn’t believe it. The man in the back was battling to close the door, they were driving so fast.
They were so organised. They knew which man to target.
I thought they had stolen his car, but he was yelling “not my car, not my car” and then “all my money, all my money”.
