A resident at the estate alerted the City Times about break-ins which, he said, occurred in broad daylight, on two consecutive days.
Items, including TV sets, laptops and computers were stolen when two houses were ransacked.
“Obviously there are old people here, some of whom are fragile, and I can just imagine what these break-ins do to them,” said the resident.
“We are all nervous and still don’t know if it’s an inside job or not.”
He can’t make sense of how the thieves managed to get the stolen items out of the property, since the complex is secure and there are guards at the gate.
Jeanny Strauss, of the Village Walk Retirement Estate, said they are extremely concerned as it’s their main concern to provide security to residents.
Strauss said they have held meetings with the security company following the incidents.
“We have since established that the stolen items were passed over the wall and we have taken extra security measures to prevent the problem from reoccurring,” she said.
Strauss added that all cars leaving the premises are searched and that they have not had other incidents since those two.
There are also building contractors on site, but she couldn’t speculate if they are behind the break-ins.
Strauss urged residents to take precautionary measures, including locking their doors at all times.
“The fact that the estate is enclosed should not stop them from doing so,” she said.
Strauss added that they do criminals checks on all their service providers, and encourage residents to do the same with their employees.
“Their safety is our concern, though we can’t guarantee 100 per cent safety,” she said.
Attacks on the elderly at local retirement villages is not something new.
In March, there were similar complaints at the Norton Park Retirement Village, in which the daughter of a 75-year-old pensioner who lives there said two men threw a brick through her mother’s bedroom window while she was sleeping, on February 26.
After gaining access, the two robbers ransacked the house and fled on foot.
The woman said her grandmother was lucky enough to “not have been harmed physically, but emotionally it has taken a toll on her”..
On the evening of March 13, another pensioner was reported to have been attacked and robbed at Oranjehof Tehuis, a retirement home in Bonaero Park.
According to Reza Patel, Benoni CPF chairman, the elderly woman was beaten with a hammer after three men gained access into her home.
The City Times also reported on a story about a 91-year-old man who was robbed and beaten up at Eden Park Village, in Brentwood Park, in January.
Police spokesperson Lieut Nomsa Sekele said that Benoni, as a whole, has a challenge in housebreakings.
“Most of it is due to the fact that our people employ foreigners with no identity documents and most prefer them because they pay them less,” she said.
“We can’t force people who to employ, but they need to double check who they employ for their own safety.”
Sekele encouraged pensioners to keep themselves safe by locking their doors at all times, and urged retirement villages to tighten up security.
