Criminals target ATM customers

MANAGEMENT at the St Johns Centre said they have added security measures after a series of muggings at the centre’s ATMs.

This comes after complaints from customers regarding safety and security at the centre.

One customer who wished to remain anonymous said, “We know these people and they move very fast. I have called the police on one occasion and when the police got there they were gone.

The customer claims muggings have been going on for a quite a while but it seems like it has become worse in the past few weeks.

“I am a pensioner and I shop at St Johns. There are many other pensioners who use the centre and I feel like we are easy targets. It makes me really angry that there are people who can just come here and make our life miserable and get away with it. This really has to stop, I have reported this to the police and they are now patrolling in the centre,” said another customer.

Sarita van Wyk, corporate communications manager, Shoprite head office said, “The centre management is aware of some incidents that occurred lately and various additional security measures have been put in place in order to address the matter.

“These include the placing of posters to alert the public to be careful when using the banks’ facilities. The possibility of moving the ATMs to a busier part of the centre is also being investigated. Other steps taken cannot be discussed on a public platform for security reasons. There has also been efforts to get assistance from the SAPS in this regard,” said van Wyk.

Pinetown SAPS communications officer, Lt Bongumusa Manqele, said although no case has been opened they are aware of these incidents.

“We have received reports about criminals operating in the centre and police have been to the centre to try to catch these perpetrators,” said Manqele.