AN elderly woman warns older shoppers to be especially vigilant about their handbags after hers was stolen from her trolley while she shopped was out shopping on Friday morning, 17 March.
The shopper suspects she was followed from another store in Galleria, as that was where she had concealed her bag inside one of several bags in her trolley. When she got to the second store, she was distracted by a woman before she noticed that her handbag had vanished.
“I was shopping in the food store on the lower level. After not having filled my material grocery bag, I decided to put my handbag inside it, which I put under the fold-out baby seat section of the trolley,” said the elderly woman. “I then went to Pick n Pay Clothing which had only a few shoppers at the time. A stranger approached and asked me what shoes were on sale, when it was clearly marked on the shelves in front of us.”
A while after being asked, the shopper reached into the material grocery bag for her handbag as she needed her glasses. It was then that she realised her handbag and all its contents were gone.
The bag vanished along with her ID, driver’s license, purse, cellphone and several odds and ends. Fortunately, she always keeps her car and house keys in her pockets.
The store’s manager checked CCTV camera footage and showed the pensioner how she had been approached by the unknown woman who asked about the sale, while another woman emerged from around a corner and fumbled with the trolley’s contents.
That person then pulled out the bag, slinging it over her arm and placing a piece of clothing over it.
Unfortunately the women’s identity was unclear on the footage, so after filing a report at the police station, she was told not much could be done, other than to advise others of the dangers of pick-pocketers.
The unlucky shopper warns others to keep their belongings well hidden, bags zipped up and never let anything out of their sight while shopping as criminals lurk everywhere. Galleria Mall management concurred and urged shoppers to remain vigilant while shopping. They confirmed that through the vigilance of their security team, they managed to get the details of the criminals’ vehicle via number plate recognition technology.
“The vehicle has been flagged as suspicious and will not be allowed to enter the mall,” said a Galleria spokesman.
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