Pinetown hijacking spurs community action
Residents urged to be more vigilant.
THREE armed robbers hijacked a white Ford Batam from Flodden Crescent in Pinetown on Wednesday afternoon, 21 May.
According to Dylan Jenkins, chairman of the Pine Ridge Neighbourhood Watch, three armed men approached two men parked outside their driveway gate. “The robbers held the guns to their head and demanded all their belongings and then made off with their vehicle, registered NPN 53785,” said Jenkins.
What concerns Jenkins the most is that the hijacking was at 4pm and just 500 metres away from Benjamin Pine Primary School.
Lt Bongumusa Manqele, communications officer at Pinetown SAPS, said police are still investigating the incident as the vehicle has not yet been recovered.
Jenkins said although hijackings have decreased by half compared to last year’s stats, this number is still not acceptable.
“We’ve received a few reports of suspicious vehicles driving by and people walking in the community. Yesterday’s hijacking was the first in the Pine Ridge area this month,” said Jenkins.
He said crime is rife two hours after dark, which is why they try to encourage residents to be extra vigilant during this period.
“We are working closely with SAPS and Metro to bring down the stats of hijackings which is two every month. But we need residents to also pay more attention to their surroundings so they can avoid dangerous situations,”said Jenkins.
