Worldwear Shopping Centre hit by armed robbers
FAIRLAND – Three Timberland store employees were tied and held at gunpoint during a store robbery in Fairland.
Yet another robbery at a Gauteng shopping centre. This time, the victim to these seemingly increasing ghastly series of armed robberies was Worldwear Shopping Centre, just a few kilometres from Cresta Shopping Centre on 4 September.
“At about 10am, I was standing by the corner, a man came to me and asked me not to make noise, as I looked over, other men were with my colleagues,” said armed robbery survivor Ntokozo Khumalo.
Three Timberland shop employees were all taken to the store room.
“There were initially three guys, they wore no masks or anything to cover their faces, when we got to the storeroom, they tied our hands and feet,” said an evidently horrified Bryan who is an employee at the shop.
“They came prepared with cables to tie us up. They also used shoe laces to tie our legs,” he added.
The posse stole cell-phones and about R400 000 worth of merchandise.
Terrified for their lives, these employees were submissive to their attackers.
“I was very scared; I just did what they said I should do. I was wearing a dress and I was even scared that I may be raped so I just had to do what they said,” retells Khumalo.
“No one could have told that these guys were going to do this because they looked very decent and came in one by one.”
According to Khumalo, one of the robbers was very greedy, triggering the gang to argue.
“These guys all spoke in Zulu, and one of them wanted to take more items and they started arguing. They even left one bag full of merchandise because they could not carry it,” she said.
Other shopping centre occupants had no clue that there was a crime underway.
“I only realised when other shop owners were rushing outside to see. When we got to the shop, I saw the staff on the ground, tied up,” recalled Patrick Benie, manager of a nearby shop.
There were allegedly other men at the shopping centre entrance holding guards at gunpoint.
According to Fairland Police spokesperson Constable Michael Kgatla, the suspects were armed, although no shots and injuries were reported.
The suspects fled in a White Toyota Hilux double cab and another unidentified car.
This is the eight Gauteng shopping mall robbery since last month. There has been at least one robbery at a Gauteng mall every day this week, in both Johannesburg and Pretoria.
