Not only is crime in the Laudium/Erasmia area seemingly escalating, but crime seems to be increasing in the surrounding areas as well.
From Gerhardsville to Sunderland Ridge and Heuweloord, businesses and residents in these neighbouring areas are complaining of the increase in crime, with many attributing the increase to the growing of informal settlements in their areas. In one of the recent complaints the Laudium Sun received concerning crime in neighbouring areas, a businessman complained about the loss he incurred due to stock and equipment stolen from his business in Sunderland Ridge. Stephanus Jacques Fourie who runs a pub on Sesmylspruit Street in Sunderland Ridge was furious that thieves stole electrical appliances, a generator and stock including alcohol from his business last Saturday.
47-year-old Stephanus told the Laudium Sun that on Saturday (September 21) thieves broke into his pub, ‘Hanger 47’, in the early hours of the morning at around 3.30am. “These thieves cut the roof of the pub from the side to gain entry so that no one could spot them from the street. There must have been many thieves as the items stolen needed a lot of people to carry these out. I also believe that the thieves must have had a vehicle to carry away all these goods from the pub. There were a lot of items stolen, including Sony speakers and a big television which cost R11,000. They also stole a lap top worth thousands of rand and a card machine worth R1800. The thieves also stole a 5.5 kw generator worth of R15000, alcohol, meat , cigarettes and a DSTV decoder, together with a till register and coins for change, which were inside the till. We found the till register outside the pub. This is not the first time criminals have struck as I have had previous break-ins at the pub. The last time they broke in, a number of items were also stolen including Dixon speakers. I don’t know if it is the same thieves who stole the previous times and now, but I have CCTV footage of the ones who stole this time. I just hope that the thieves responsible for the break-ins will be caught by the police as I have reported the matter to the police.” Stephanus added, “Although all the items stolen will cost a fortune to replace, I am just glad that I have insurance cover for theft and I hope that my claim will be processed quickly so that I can get back to normal trading as before. Although I am again operating my business, the problem is that I don’t have a television and speakers. Some of my customers love music and love to watch soccer games and rugby, which is an attraction to my business, as they come in and drink while watching the games. My customers are both Black and White people. I just cannot understand how come none of the security guards in the vicinity spotted these thieves entering or leaving the area at 3 in the morning. I believe the reason why crime is so high in our area is because there is an informal settlement not far from my business which is expanding by the day, with more and more people coming into the settlement. I suspect
that the criminals who stole from my business are the same ones who come and drink at my pub, but have also been checking out what items they could steal and how they could break-in. The people staying at the nearby informal settlement are staying there illegally and hopefully they would soon be evicted.”