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Case closed for Strathcone Place attempted burglary

STRATHCONE Place home-owner, Thoko Mbhele (59) was alarmed to receive a call from Montclair SAP weeks after she was a victim of an attempted housebreaking, informing her the fingerprint identification came back negative.

On Monday, 24 June, an intruder broke into her home via her bedroom sliding door. Fortunately for her, she was sleeping in a spare room. The intruder tripped the alarm and fled the scene. Woken-up by the sounding alarm, Thoko called police for assistance at about 2.20am.

According to Thoko, the police officers arrived at 4.30am, told her they would return to assist her in the morning and had to attend to an urgent matter. The officers only returned to her two days later, when they took a statement and informed her a team had been dispatched to lift fingerprints from her home.

“The incident left me shaken, I had to take time off work to deal with the incident. I’m glad I slept in a different room, who knows what could have happened,” said Thoko.

After more than a month of waiting for the fingerprint department, she received a call from Capt Mdunge of Montclair SAP informing her the fingerprints came back negative. She did not understand what the results meant as a fingerprint technician failed to arrive to process any fingerprints.

Thoko also noted that this was the sixth time she had been a victim of housebreaking since she relocated from Johannesburg in June 2012.

KZN Media Centre office responded to the complaint by saying: “The complaint was dispatched to the patrol van at 2.43am and attended to immediately. The complainant in this case was too traumatised to give a statement at the time and was assisted by some of her family members.

They were requested to contact the station as soon as the complainant was in the position to make a statement. The complainant was interviewed later that day at 2.45pm. A statement was obtained and a docket of attempted housebreaking registered. Fingerprint experts were booked on the same day but failed to attend. Capt Mdunge informed the complainant that no fingerprint results were available and not that they were negative as indicated.”

Communications officer, Lt Jojozi said: “The fingerprints were booked, but we cannot confirm whether or not they were taken. The case has been closed.”

“It’s not the first time I have reported a case with the Montclair police only for it to vanish into thin air. I don’t believe they are doing their job properly,” said Thoko.

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