The Springs Rugby Club was broken into in the early hours of Monday and entry was gained at the back of the building where robbers punched a hole in the wall.
According to the club chairman Hans Bothma one of the staff members went in early on a Monday to check stock.
“She immediately noticed something was wrong when she saw the wooden doors and the sliding door were open and contacted the club treasurer Kobus de Beer,” says Bothma.
“When I arrived at work, de Beer helped me to climb over the security fence at the lapa to gain access to the rest of the building. It was then that I noticed the club has been broken into,” says Willem Shikwambane, barman at the club.
They immediately contacted the security company and the police.
According to Shikwambane, the robbers gained access to the building through the liquor storeroom by punching a hole through the wall.
“I have been a barman at this club for 26 years and have experienced a lot of break-ins, but this one is worse than all the others. But what bothers me most, is why the alarm did not go off,” he adds.
Prosafe’s CEO Tony da Cruz says they did get a stray signal at 1:56am on Monday but it was just a single test signal.
“We immediately send out a reaction officer to check all the entry points and obviously the previous break-in points such as the roof where robbers gained access to the club about eight weeks ago, but found nothing alarming.
“The robbers gained access to the room where the main control box of the alarm is mounted and they pulled out the wires to prevent the alarm from going off,” says da Cruz.
According to Springs police spokesman Captain Johannes Ramphora, they received a break-in call after 8am on Monday.
“The club has been broken into so often, but it looks like this time there is more damage to the doors and equipment and also more valuables were taken,” says Capt Ramphora.
Shikwambane adds they have broken into the club seven times in the past.
According to da Cruz it is a high risk area and they have donated additional detection to the club two months ago to add to their security.
According to DA councillor Dean Stone it is the responsibility of the metro to safeguard the building by deploying security guards.
“There are two permanent security guards deployed at PAM Brink Stadium, and yet there are nothing left to be stolen, they should rather put two guards at the rugby club,” says Stone.
He adds the first step is to have a look at the rental agreement between the club and the metro and secondly why there is no support from the metro.
“Once we have established that then we can start discussions,” concludes Stone.
