Schoolgirl robbed in subway

This issue is of great concern to parents whose children have to pass through the subway to get to and from school.

The subway links Springs Extension to the CBD.

A foster mother of a 15-year-old girl claims her teenager was recently robbed of her cellphone in the subway.

“She was on her way to school that morning when a group of men stopped her and ordered her to give them her cellphone,” she says.

The teenager was in a state of shock when she arrived at school and staff informed her mother of the incident.

Over the past three weeks more than 10 children from different schools were robbed while passing through the subway.

Jaco Nel, chairman of Olympia School’s governing body, says a child was stabbed with a knife and another was assaulted by a gang of youths.

They were stopped by about five young men, who allegedly threatened them with a broken bottle if they didn’t hand over their cellphones.

According to Nel, adults also fall victim to these criminals.

“A lot of people use the subway to get to and from work,” he says.

He feels the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) should assist the community by placing security guards on duty to protect the pedestrians and to rid the area of the people who loiter near the subway entrance.

The school believes First Avenue in Oranjehof, which runs past its premises, is the route used by criminals.

Nel says some of the people who commit these crimes dress in school uniform and pose as learners.

It is believed they do this to avoid being caught.

With the help of the Springs police and the Springs Community Policing Forum, Nel adds that schools are doing everything in their power to protect learners.

He knows of a school principal who occasionally waits for the children at the subway and walks them to school.

When the Addie recently visited the subway, a few young men and a woman were seen blocking the entrance to the subway from Oranjehof’s side.

“These incidents are reported to the police,” says Nel.

Springs police spokesman, Capt Johannes Ramphora, says cases of common robbery and assault were reported to the police and one suspect was recently arrested at the subway.

“Although there are no statistics available on the number of robberies that have taken place over the past year, the police will patrol the area frequently,” says Ramphora.

He suggests that pedestrians avoid the subway and rather use the railway bridge.

Ramphora adds that there is a railway police office at the station where crimes can be reported.

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