On July 2 Mr Ewoudt Botes went out for dinner and parked his vehicle on the second floor parking of Saveways Crescent Shopping Centre.
“I left my car locked there at 18:30 and when I returned at 22:00 it was gone,” said Botes.
Botes’ white single cab Isuzu KB250D had been stolen,
“I questioned the nearest security guard, but he appeared unconcerned and totally unresponsive and jokingly admitted that he was not on duty at the time,” added Botes.
Botes opened a case of motor vehicle theft at Witbank Police, the Isuzu is a 1993 model with registration CDJ 815 MP. Botes has got in touch with the shopping centre security department, who said they would look into the matter.
On July 4 Mr Cecil Kortt headed to bed after locking his Big Boy motorcycle up in his yard. He had chained it to the carport post. Overnight thieves had managed to cut through the chains and stole the Big Boy 250 XTC with registration HDZ 216 MP. This was not the first loss to Kortt, not a week ago his BMW F series was stolen from his home in a similar manner. The BMW’s registration number is HDZ 216 MP.
The following day a white Nissan 1400 with registration FZJ 428 MP was stolen from Prima Louise Street in the Central Business District. Its owner had locked the vehicle and left it overnight only to awaken to see it missing.
Witbank Police are experiencing a high number of motor vehicle theft cases and have asked the community to apply these preventative measures:
*Remove all valuables from your car before parking when it is unattended to prevent it from being spotted by criminals.
*Tinted windows can help to disguise criminal activities taking place inside your car so think twice about having your windows tinted. Clear safety film is a better idea.
*Antitheft wheel nuts are a great and inexpensive way of making it that much harder for criminals to steal your expensive alloy wheels.
*If your car is likely to be unattended for a long period of time, consider removing a spark plug to deter car thieves.
*Consider installing a car anti-theft bracket on your driveway that is locked with a padlock as an extra precaution, even behind a locked gate.
*After remotely locking your vehicle, physically test if your vehicle is locked as it can be scrambled by another remote.
*Older vehicles without any anti-theft devices should install the ‘Gorilla Bar’ or a gear lock.
If any suspicious activities are noticed contact the police on 013 655 5051/52.
