No good deed goes unpunished, or so they say.
This past week two men learned the validity of this statement after they were robbed at gunpoint for no reason other than the fact that they had been the only souls kind enough to offer directions to a group of lost travellers.
Mr Hlophe Mthombeni was walking home from The Ridge Casino.
He had just stepped onto the traffic circle between MacDonalds and the casino when an unambiguous black Volkswagen Golf pulled up alongside him.
On February 20, whilst standing on that traffic circle – offering four complete strangers directions on how to get to Coronation, Mr Mthombeni was abducted.
“I was busy explaining to them that they needed to drive in the direction of Jackaroo when suddenly one pointed a firearm at me. At first I was confused and I thought they were joking, but when the driver said, ‘Get in,’ something in his voice convinced me that he wasn’t kidding around. They drove to Bethal Street with me where they convinced me to send them another R2 000 via e-wallet – by this point they already had my cellphone. I transferred the R2 000, after which they drove me to the Traffic Department and dropped me off in front of it,” Mr Mthombeni recounted.
A case of armed robbery was opened at Witbank SAPS.
Mr Dennis Thwala was walking in the direction of Witbank CBD from Witbank Provincial Hospital with a song in his heart and the sun on his face.
Little did he know that he had been earmarked for tragedy.
On February 21 Mr Thwala was strolling along the sidewalk when a red Golf 6, driven by an attractive woman, pulled up alongside him.
The woman asked for directions to an informal settlement nearby, to which Mr Thwala – being the gentleman that he is – kindly obliged.
Half way through directing the female driver to her destination, one of the male passengers in the back seat pulled out a revolver and pointed it at Mr Thwala.
The woman driver then demanded that Mr Thwala hand over his cellphone. Fearing for his life, Mr Thwala complied.
The red Golf 6 sped off in the direction of the N4.
A case of armed robbery was opened at Witbank SAPS.
Pedestrians are urged to refrain from talking to, or interacting with unknown drivers who approach them out of the blue.
