Burglar targets disabled Middelburg care facility

A burglar destroyed valuable items at the Greater Middelburg Activity Centre for the Disabled in Mpumalanga, Middelburg Observer reports.

The thief took cutlery and crockery, and proceeded to steal all bathroom taps in the facility.

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The wash basins and toilets were also broken.

The thief went as far as to vandalise the bathroom facilities.

As if that wasn’t enough, the vandal went on to damage the ceilings and windows, cutting himself in the process.

After damaging the bathrooms, the thief went to the storeroom and kicked open the roller door to gain entry. Once inside, the suspect made a fire, which police believe was started to light up the storeroom.

The culprit then stole a garden fork, which he used to force open the kitchen’s security gate. The gate, however, only slightly budged, where after the thief knocked out a window to gain entry.

The kitchen pantry is also protected by a security gate, which the thief attempted to break open with the garden fork, but failed.

He then made off with all the pots and pans, cutlery and crockery.

The Activity Centre’s kitchen was ransacked, and what the thief could not take was broken.

He did not take the breakables, but only broke them on the kitchen floor instead.

“We care for the marginalised in our society, we feed them and offer them a safe space where they are protected against exploitation, a space where they can learn skills and improve their own circumstances, and now their stability has been rocked by a single criminal,” caretaker Rudy Mbenzi said.

Samaritans who want to assist the centre with fixing the toilets, windows, doors, ceilings, and those wishing to donate cookware towards the kitchen, can contact Karen Loesch on 082 341 6195.

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