Two men caught a victim off guard as she was ironing clothes at a house in Ben Fleur. She looked though the window and saw an unknown man approaching the house while another man was apparently getting out of a blue Nissan in the driveway.
She screamed as they entered the house and threatened her with her life to keep quiet. The robbers apparently covered her with blankets as she lay in the bedroom, to conceal their activities in the house.
They escaped with several valuable electronic devices worth several thousand rand. The incident took place on Thursday, April 3 at about 11:30.
Over the weekend of April 5 the house of a police official was almost broken into. According to Sgt David Ratau from Witbank SAPS, the woman left her home to attend a party. However she apparently decided to leave early and when she got home she found a suspect trying to force her burglar door open with a screw driver.
When he saw her he ran away leaving the tool, and a knife behind. Her neighbour has left a note that said they heard a noise but they were not sure if she was at home.
The victim of the incident refused to comment on the ordeal or disclose her name.
After this officer’s experience the SAPS would like to reaffirm the importance of getting to know your neighbours.
“When you leave the house let them know how long you will be away, and leave a contact number if necessary. Remember to return the favour,” said Sgt Ratau.
Mr Nico Kotze from the Community Policing Forum (CPF) for Ben Fleur said that from their experience robbers observe and gain information on daily routes from potential house. In Capricorn Street there are several empty stands and tall grass that could make it easy for them to hide in. Although there is never an established method of how robbers gain their information.
“We have patrols during the day as well, every second hour and every hour at night,” said Kotze. Ben Fleur is well known for its exceptionally low crime rate from 50 burglaries a month down to less that five a month after the establishment of the CPF. They encourage every household to get involved with their local CPF and help make a difference.
