Crime snippets

Here are some of the serious crimes recently reported to the Boksburg SAPS.

Murder
• Boksburg police said the body of an Angelo informal settlement man, Mhlengi Dladla, was found in a pool of water. Dladla was reported missing to the Boksburg North SAPS on October 30. His body was found swollen, with no visible wounds.
• Another man from Angelo informal settlement died in hospital on November 21 after he was reportedly assaulted during the early hours of the morning. He sustained injuries on his head.

Theft from motor vehicle
• A gymnasium member recently had his bag stolen from the boot of his car while parked in the parking lot of the gymnasium on Kingfisher Avenue in Sunward Park. The bag contained a cellphone, a phone charger and other valuable items.
• In Parkrand, a man woke up on the morning of November 15 to find that thieves had broken into his employer’s bakkie while parked outside his residential unit on Bulpin Street. Tools worth a substantial amount of money were stolen.

Smash-and-grab
Motorists are advised to remain vigilant after several drivers recently had their belonging snatched from their vehicles while driving on the known smash-and-grab spots within the policing precinct.
• In the latest incident, a driver recently had his pricey cellphone snatched from his car as he was driving at the intersection of Main Reef and Field roads in Angelo informal settlements. He had just stopped at the four-way street when the predator pounced on his cellphone.

• On the same spot, on November 21, a motorist had his two hearing aid devices snatched when he stopped at the four-way stop street.
At the same place at about 16:45 on November 17, a predator smashed the window of a stationary vehicle and snatched a Samsung Galaxy A52.
Despite many interventions by the police and concerned community groups, the area remains one of the city’s notorious smash-and-grab spot.

• A similar incident was reported at the intersection of Main Reef and Rondebult roads where a motorist had her handbag snatched by a predator as she was waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
• Another motorist had her handbag snatched by a predator that smashed the passenger window as she was waiting for the traffic light to turn green at the intersection of Commissioner Street and van Dyk Park Road at about 18:00 on November 15.
• At the same spot at about 16:55 on November 17, a driver had his cellphone and black Samsung A72 grabbed as his car was stationary at the traffic lights. The robber, described as an African male, smashed the passenger window and took the cellphone from the car.
•Also in the same area, a motorist had his cellphone, an Apple iphone 13, snatched from the car after stopping at the traffic light at about 07:20 on November 17.

Break-ins
• Thieves broke into a funeral parlour on Church Street, Boksburg Central, and stole a fridge, computer, microwave, stretcher, hosepipe, generator, hammer, DVD player and a printer. They forced open one of the windows to gain entry.
• In Sunward Park, a homeowner woke up to find that thieves forced their way into the house on Constellation Road and stole a TV set and laptop during the night between November 17 and 18. They cut the burglar bars to gain entry.
• Thieves forced their way into a residential property on Brink Avenue in Parkrand sometime during the night between November 18 and 19 and stole a Samsung TV set, iPhone XR, speaker and alcohol. They also removed the burglar bars on the window to gain entry.
• Thieves entered Hoërskool Voortrekker sometime between November 18 and 19 and stole the electrical copper cables from the building.

Business robbery
A gang of gunmen, who were seen driving in a VW Jetta silver grey in colour, robbed the hardware on Market Street, Boksburg CBD, in broad daylight on November 19.
According to police reports, the men, who initially posed as potential customers, held the staff at gunpoint and demanded their cellphones, before proceeding to empty the tills and fled the scene.

Rape
An Angelo informal settlement girl, who alleged that she was raped by her stepfather, reportedly spent two days sleeping in the railway station shelter after her mother reportedly kicked her out of her home for spilling the beans.
According to police report, a neighbour reported that she was home on November 18 when the dirty girl approached her. The neighbour asked the girl as to why she was very dirty and the girl responded saying she had been raped by her stepfather while her mother was not home. The stepfather allegedly threatened to kill the girl should she share her ordeal with anyone.
When the mother arrived home, the girl told her about the rape. The mother apparently refused to believe her and was kicked out of their home.
The neighbour then took the girl to the police station where the matter was reported. Investigations are underway.

Fatal accident
A man, identified as Pieter Gerhardus Herbst of Brakpan, died after he was involved in an accident that saw his vehicle landing into a water body on the N17 next to Farrar Park in Boksburg on November 22.
A Boksburg SAPS patrol van was at about 18:30 driving along the N17 just after Heidelberg Road towards Rondebult Road off-ramp when they noticed the suspicious stationary grey Chery Tiggo.
Upon further investigation, they found that the driver had lost control of the vehicle before it rolled and landed in the water body full of reeds. Emergency services arrived and pulled the man’s body from the water. Officers found that he had suffered head injuries and was certified dead on the scene. His body was taken to the Germiston state mortuary.

Also Read: Weekend crime round-up