Armed men hit Durban house while owners are out
It alleged they must have been watching the house and knew when one of the cars was left behind.
The Home of Saras Govender and Michael Fan in Dunkirk Road, Salt Rock that was broken into this morning.
Five men – one of them brandishing a pistol – stormed into a house in Dunkirk Road, Salt Rock, in north of Durban this morning, making off with jewellery, electronics and the owner’s car, North Coast Courier reports.
Michael Fan and Saras Govender said they received a panicked call just before 11am from their domestic worker, Witness Sibiya, who had been locked in the bathroom.
The men quickly ransacked the house in search of valuables.
Sibiya had been making tea when she heard a noise.
“When I heard the noise I thought it might be the family. I was going to check when suddenly I heard a loud bang of metal,”said Sibiya.
Sibiya made it to the head of the stairs when she saw the men rushing up into the house past the security gate that they had wrenched open.
“They came charging in shouting and pushing me around. One of the men grabbed her by the throat and forced her into the bathroom.”
The robbers then proceeded to ransack the house, stealing three TVs, cellphones, a tablet and an unknown amount of jewellery. Within 20 minutes they were ready to make their getaway, and they proceeded down to the garage and took Fan’s white Golf 4.
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Govender said she and her husband usually each used their own cars during the day but that today they had taken the same car.
“They must have been watching the house and knew when one of the cars was left behind.”
Fortunately, Sibiya still had her phone, and when she heard the men leaving, she contacted her employers.
“We have been here for years and nothing like this has happened to us before,” said Govender.
A neighbour of Govender and Fan’s told The Courier that she had noticed suspicious men around her own gate over the past few days.
Umhlalai police Spokesperson Vinny Pillay urged all residents to warn their domestic workers to be careful when they are alone in the house and to establish a ‘plan B’ so that domestic workers know what to do in case of emergencies.
Govender and Fan expressed their gratitude to all the security companies that came so swiftly to their aid.
If you see a white Golf 4 with the registration NT 17836, report it to Umhlali police at 032-947 9900.
– Caxton News Service
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