A COWIES Hill resident called on the Westville SAPS as her lifeline when six armed men stormed her home in early January.
She was soon consumed with fear and dread for her loved ones when the person answering the call allegedly said they “can’t help” as they did not fall within the station’s jurisdiction.
“My father, Ian, went outside to see what the dogs were barking at and closed the gate behind him and was attacked by three of the men.
“My mother and I were greeted by a man in a balaclava at the front door, pointing a gun at us through the security gate,” said Tess Tjasink.
The two women ran through the home and heard the gang of men smashing through windows, while shouting at them not to call the police or they would shoot.
Tjasink lived in Westville a year ago and had the local station’s number saved on her phone. When safely locked in her parent’s bathroom, with her mother, at the far end of the home, she frantically called the Westville SAPS for help.
“We need help. There are men with guns and they have my dad,” is what I told the policeman who answered the phone. I gave him my address. You can imagine my horror when the apathetic voice on the other side said, “sorry, we can’t help you. You’re not in our area. You have to call Pinetown,” said Tjasink.
The robbers smashed through a glass window pane and gained access to the home. The father was assaulted and more than R100 000 worth of goods were stolen from the family.
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“Even though I was calling the wrong area, SAPS is the national police service and I cannot bring myself to believe that this man did not have access to a radio to at least pass on the message for me. A policeman was literally unwilling to help a citizen in distress,” said an angered Tjasink.
Her family’s saving grace was a neighbourhood watch group who contacted the flying squad.
“It was the community and the phenomenal work of the flying squad. Without them I don’t know where we would be today,” she said.
Still shaken from the ordeal, Tjasink opened a case at the Pinetown SAPS and called for a meeting with the Westville SAPS to discuss the incident.
“The senior member of management we met with was shocked when I told him how the phone call transpired and said the member who took my call told him that the call was cut off. What upsets my father is that the police were alerted to the attack while it was still happening and they chose not to help us,” she said.
“Right now I am torn. Do I continue to fight with the police and prolong the trauma or am I actually making a difference by doing this?” questioned Tjasink
The Westville SAPS communications officer, Captain Elizabeth Squires, said station management were dealing with the matter internally.
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