While many Laudium residents were celebrating Christmas and hence were in a peaceful and celebratory mood, thieves in the area were certainly not being peaceful, but were rather celebrating their ill-gotten gains after stealing from those who work hard to earn an honest living, to support their families.
This follows the Laudium Sun receiving a number of reports of crime that occurred in the area during the festive season, with a number of vehicles even being stolen.
One of the reports received, was the theft of a vehicle, a white Daihatsu Sirion (Reg No: XKY 818 GP) on Christmas day (Thursday, Dec 25), which vehicle was stolen outside the home of Noori Nooriden on the gated Himalaya Street in Ext 3, Laudium, in broad daylight.
Noori told the Laudium Sun, “Christmas day was relatively peaceful and quiet in the morning, but it was in the afternoon that I was shocked after discovering that my vehicle was missing. It was a very traumatic experience after realizing that the vehicle was stolen from outside our home in broad daylight, despite our home being in a closed security gated street. I parked my car outside my house at around 2:30pm for a short while, as I intended going out again. Everything seemed normal at the time and there were no suspicious characters walking around. It was actually very quiet. However, when I went out again about half an hour later at approximately 3pm, I immediately noticed that my car was no longer where I had parked it. I panicked and could not believe what I was seeing. I checked everywhere down the street and around the surrounding areas, hoping that maybe the car had rolled or that I had made a mistake as to where I had parked it. I walked up and down the street several times and asked the security at the gate if he had seen anyone driving the car leaving the street, but he said no and the car was nowhere to be found. I then started making phone calls to family members and neighbours, asking if anyone had seen my car or noticed anything suspicious, but no one had any information. It was a horrible day for me because this car was bought with my hard earned money and within such a short time it was gone without a trace. The shock of realizing that the car had been stolen left me feeling helpless and distressed. I then went to the police station and registered a case for my car that was stolen. Up until now, there has been no news about my car and it is still missing. This situation has been extremely difficult for me, as there has been no progress or updates from the police. I cannot understand how thieves were able to enter a gated area and steal a car so easily. We have gates and security in this area, yet criminals still manage to steal a car and drive out without being stopped. I am not sure how many thieves were involved when my car was stolen, but I am certain that it could not have been done by just one thief. I urge the community to please assist. If anyone sees my car or notices it parked or moving anywhere, I request them to report it to the police or contact me via the Laudium Sun, so that it can be recovered. Any information, no matter how small, could help. I sincerely hope that the police will do their job and that a proper investigation will take place to track down the criminals and recover my vehicle. Crime in this area is escalating and incidents of theft like this are happening more frequently. Despite having many gates and security measures in place, theft and criminal activity are still continuing. This situation is very concerning and needs urgent attention.”
Nooriden, asked why, despite having many street gates and security measures in place, theft and criminal activities are still continuing, adding that the situation is very concerning.
Neighbour, also from Himalaya Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard about my neighbour’s car being stolen. I cannot believe that even in a security-gated area, thieves can still move freely and steal vehicles. I believe there is a security breach and thus I cannot understand what we are paying monthly money for. The CPF Patrollers together with the SAPS need to do more to stop crime in the area. We need regular patrols to ensure that incidents like this do not happen again.”
Melvin Morgan of Himalaya Street, told the Laudium Sun about his frustration and concern over the increasing crime in the area. “This is really insane. How much longer do we need to live in fear, not even being able to move freely? Nowadays, we have to think a hundred times just to buy a car, because we know that vehicles are no longer safe in Laudium. Every single week cars are being stolen and yet no one from the police or the Community Policing Forum is doing anything effective to stop it.”
