Fears are mounting that as the festive season approaches, crime in the Laudium and Erasmia area will spiral, more so serious crime and seemingly those living in homes on the gated streets are also not safe.
While local police, known for their lack of communication to the community, are yet to issue any early warnings, residents are advised to be cautious and vigilant at all times, especially when leaving their homes and going on holiday. This follows the trend of serious crimes seemingly starting, with the latest robbery reported to the Laudium Sun taking place this past Tuesday morning (Nov 12), whereby four black armed thugs attacked a Taj Street family, stealing a number of items including cellphones, jewellery and an undisclosed amount of cash. Farhaan Bora (41) of Taj Street, explained to the Laudium Sun what transpired at his house. “At about 9:10am, four armed thugs with guns entered our house. They pointed guns to my father who is 77 years old, my mother who is 66 years old and my daughter of 11. They stole their cellphones, forced the three into one room and then ransacked our house. After searching the house for money and other valuables, they then took my three family members into another room and covered them with blankets, warning them not to move or shout, after which the thugs left. It was only after a while, when my parents realised that the thugs were gone as the house was quiet, that they raised the alarm of the robbery and called me at work, explaining what had happened. I immediately rushed home and found my parents and daughter highly traumatised. The cell phones which were stolen were a Samsung A32, S20 and an iPhone 8. We suspect that our domestic worker, known as Aesha from Malawi, was involved in this robbery, as when the robbery took place she was not around, despite supposedly being on duty. After the robbery unfolded, we went to her place in the Itireleng informal settlement with the police, but she was not there and was missing. Thus we suspect that maybe she was working with the robbers.” Farhaan added, “Strangely, even our maid’s husband and was not available. Both their phones were switched off, therefore we are looking at the possibility that maybe the husband was also involved in this robbery. I have a feeling that these robbers are also from Malawi. The questions we are all asking is why did our domestic worker not come to work when the robbery took place and why is her husband missing as well. This robbery has traumatised my mother and my daughter. After the robbery, my mother has now booked a flight to India. I just hope that the police will catch these criminals, as what they did was wrong. Now my family is living in fear. Is this what democracy in the new South Africa is all about?
Gated Streets
Crime is rife in Laudium and what is so frustrating is that we have security guards posted at the street gates which were installed to prevent any criminal activities in our area. These robbers managed to pass the security guards and went to our street and robbed my family. What are these security guards doing, as they are not even scanning the people passing through these gates. I am paying R550 monthly for these security guards to protect my family, but still my family was robbed right under the noses of the guards who are supposed to protect us. The reason why I am talking about the robbery is for stats purposes, so that other residents should be aware of what some domestic workers are up to and also be cautioned that people living in these gated areas are not necessarily safe,” a clearly upset Farhaan said.
Abdulkader Bora father of Farhaan told the Laudium Sun, “This robbery has left the whole family in shock and traumatised. I hope the police arrest these criminals. Crime in Laudium is out of control. It is time that the police and Community Police Forum pull up their socks to fight crime.”
