Bluff home ransacked while owner watches on surveillance cameras
Household items and valuables worth over R12 000 were stolen.
A BLUFF woman watched her security camera’s helplessly as a man ransacked her home after spending 30 minutes to break the burglar bars, before he fled with about R12 000 worth of valuables.
The suspect spent under 15 minutes inside the woman’s home in Bayview Road in Grosvenor, Bluff, and used socks as gloves to prevent him from leaving fingerprints. After accessing the security speakers audio system, the woman screamed at the intruder, who fled after being alarmed.
Hoping that sharing her story will encourage other home owners in the area to be more vigilant, as criminals are finding different ways to gain entry into homes and evade being caught, the woman, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said she received a notification that there was movement in the house via a motion sensor camera she had installed for security.
“The first notification came at 14:38. I got another one at 14:45, and then finally another at 14:55, which prompted me to log onto the security system and and check on the house. I noticed that my wardrobe door in the one bedroom was open, which seemed strange. I then went back on the feed and saw a man inside my home. I pressed the speaker to ask him what he was doing and that’s obviously when I disturbed him. He escaped through the kitchen window, were he gained entry. I then called the Brighton Beach police and explained that there is someone in my home and told them that we were not home. Unfortunately, he had escaped by the time the police arrived,” said the woman.
She reached her home to find that the burglar bars had been ripped out from the cement walls, and found the bedrooms in a mess. “Valuables, including a laptop, smart watch, two cell phones, hair appliances, cash, my daughter’s pocket money, school bag with text books, her cap, portable radio and various other household items were taken. We are still finding out what items he had taken as we look for it and cannot find it, so the estimated amount increased as the days go by. The one really good thing that has come out of this experience was that the community has reached out and invited me to join a watch group for the area. I am now able to communicate with the neighbors within the Bayview area and I can be a part of this team of volunteers who keep a watch over the community, like in other areas. I am disappointed that no fingerprints could be taken as the robber wore socks as gloves. However, a case was registered at Brighton Beach SAPS,” said the woman.
Communications officer of the Brighton Beach SAPS, Captain Louise le Roux, confirmed that Brighton Beach SAPS Detectives Unit are investigating a case of house breaking.
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“On Thursday, June 30, a Bluff resident received a notification on her mobile device from a sensor camera within her home. Upon viewing the camera, she received a second notification upon which she noticed an intruder. As her camera had a speaker function she was able to shout out to the intruder. The intruder then hastily exited the house through a window,” said Le Roux.
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