Muldersdrift resident Wessel Swart has reported eight incidents of burglary on his property this year alone. The most recent one took place on Monday September 13.
“My alarm indicating that the beam lights were broken didn’t go off, so I didn’t suspect anything. At around 07:00 when my workers started milking the cows they realised that the cast-iron bathtub and the frame for the tank stand were gone. Those objects were close to the house but just out of reach of the beams. I called the police and they where here within two hours. They said I would have to make a statement at the station because it was a case of theft. One of the warrant officers there said ‘but you have had so many cases here’. I have counted eight in the last three months,” Swart said.
The incidents on his property range from his dog being poisoned, the house burgled, his Audi A3 stolen, the battery stolen from his bakkie, the wheels stolen from his trailer, a portion of his farm burned and numerous instances of his fence being cut. He said he felt that he was being targeted. “The question is what am I a target of? Am I a target for a farm murder? On the evening of the burglary I wasn’t here, but my foreman phoned me when he saw the lights going on and off, and they shot at him. There is a case of attempted murder.
“For all those cases I saw one detective once, who took a statement about the attempted murder and that’s all. When I phoned about the car that was stolen, they said the case was closed and they had followed up on all the leads.”
The frustrated resident went through a list of security measures he has in place, among them alarm systems, beams, motion sensors and geese. His dog is kept inside the house at night for fear of it being poisoned if it is outside. “I am awake most of the night. I am doing the best I can but with every recurring incident, you start to wonder ‘am I going to survive this or am I going to get murdered?’ What is next?”
Swart said he has had incidents in previous years, however, they were few and far in between; but he has never experience the recurring hits especially at this rate.
On September 16, his property was broken into again. His basement garage was burgled and a solar panel and an empty gas bottle were stolen. He said the thugs presumably gained access by cutting a fence. He shared that, “As my alarm went off, I got up, opened my front door and tried to see the reason for the disturbance, but the thieves had closed the door from the inside and left while I was still inspecting the tractors and implements. This is the second crime incident in one week.”
The detective on the case of the stolen tub had reportedly just left for training where he would be until December.
