It is unfortunate, rather unacceptable, that residents of Laudium are still suffering sleepless nights due to the ongoing crime in the area, while the Laudium CPF, under the command of the seemingly incompetent leadership of Chair of the Pakistan South Africa Association, Zahid ul Zama, who is also part of the local ANC cabal under Cllr Naeem Patel, has yet to address the community on issues of crime.
This follows yet more incidents of crime reported to the Laudium Sun this week by concerned residents, for crime stats purposes. Residents have also complained about the influx of nyaopes, vagrants and ‘non-residents’ seen wandering freely on the streets of Laudium, without being questioned or searched by the Police, which residents claim is the cause of the increase in petty crime in the area.
In one of the reports of crime received by the Laudium Sun this week, two thieves entered a Himalaya Street property in Laudium Ext 3, by jumping over the front gate this past Sunday night (October 4), at around 11:35pm. The two Black male thieves managed to steal a car battery and four tyres from a white Opel Astra parked inside the yard and made off with the stolen items, without being spotted by the Police or CPF patrols.
Derif Zoye of Himalaya Street, told the Laudium Sun, “My family and I are tenants at this property. Unfortunately, two thieves managed to steal all four tyres and the car battery from my sister’s white Opel Astra, which was parked inside the yard, behind huge security gates. We were all sleeping shortly after 11pm and we had no idea that thieves were inside our property targeting her vehicle. I only found out about what happened when we woke up in the morning. When my sister was ready to go to work, she went into the yard to get into her car and that is when she was shocked to see that all four tyres were missing from her car. After further inspection she realised that the car battery had also been stolen. I then checked our CCTV footage, which revealed important information about the theft, how the thieves gained entry by jumping over the front gate and got into the yard where the car was parked. It was really shocking for us because we never expected that intruders would invade our property during the night and steal such big items; four tyres and a heavy car battery while we were sleeping inside. This is really bad because my sister is a hard-working lady and she does not deserve this huge loss. She depends on her car to get to work and carry on with her daily responsibilities. Having four tyres and a battery stolen has traumatised her and caused a major financial problem for her. It is extremely frustrating to wake up and find your vehicle damaged and unable to be used because thieves have taken essential parts from it. Crime is literally becoming too much on our street and I am very worried about the situation. We cannot continue living in a community where residents have to be concerned about their cars and property being targeted at any time of the day or night. People should be able to sleep peacefully without worrying about criminals coming onto their properties and stealing from them. I feel that something drastic needs to be done about the crime in our area. We need stronger action to make our streets safer and to ensure that residents feel protected. I am also disappointed with our Councillor, Naeem Patel and our CPF, because I feel that not enough is being done to address the concerns of residents. I believe that the people in Laudium are becoming tired of what they see as incompetence from our Councillor. I think it is time for Naeem Patel to say goodbye to this community because residents are frustrated and want to see real action. We need leadership that listens to residents, takes their concerns seriously and works to make our streets safer.”
Omar Asvat, also of Himalaya Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard about the theft from the car and it is really bad. The crime in this area is literally becoming too much. We are losing our minds over the increasing number of crimes happening almost every day. I am extremely concerned about what is happening in our community because residents are becoming more and more worried about their safety and the safety of their properties. We cannot continue living like this, where people are afraid that their vehicles or belongings could be targeted while they are sleeping or gone for an outing. Especially in this street and Ext 3, the crime is way too much. It is becoming a serious concern for residents because Itireleng is nearby and we are not seeing enough Police patrols in the area. I believe the lack of visible patrols is making residents feel vulnerable and something needs to be done before the situation becomes even worse. I am worried that if nothing is done soon, criminals will become even more confident and then target residents, even harming them. We need the politicians, the CPF and the Police to take the increasing crime seriously and respond to the concerns being raised by people living in the area. Something must be done as soon as possible to curb the crime. I do not want to see our community reaching a point where residents are too scared to walk outside, or to leave their vehicles parked outside or unable to sleep peacefully at night. I believe there needs to be more attention given to this part of Laudium, especially Himalaya Street and Ext 3. Residents deserve to feel safe in their own community. We need stronger visibility from law enforcement and proper action against criminals who are targeting our neighbourhood. If the situation continues to be ignored, I fear it will eventually be too late to protect this community from criminals. Action must be taken now, before crime gets completely out of control and more residents fall victim.”
