MBOMBELA – Smash-and-grab and petty crime are on the rise in busy streets and at shopping centres.
On Saturday morning a 34-year-old woman, Ms Goodness Nkonyane, had such an experience.
Also Read: 10 quick tips to do safe mobile banking
“I was approached by two men who were selling body spray. I told them I was not interested, but they kept on pestering me to buy the spray and offered me a discount if I buy four of them. I was so irritated by their actions that I finally smelled a tester.”
Read: Police officers to clamp down on crime during the festive season
Nkonyane then started to feel dizzy, fell to the ground – powerless – then saw her handbag was gone. “It happened so fast. Even now I’m still trying to recall the incident. I lost my money, cellphone and other valuable items. I tried to shout for help, but nobody came to my rescue – people were minding their own business,” she related.
• SABRIC concerned about fraud increase
Nkonyane suspects the body spray had been tampered with. “I recognised the bottle, but I have a feeling that they put something into it because how can an ordinary perfume make one dizzy.
It is painful that I lost my money but my experience will be a wake-up call for others not to entertain strangers or to buy perfume on the street,” she concluded.