While Laudium residents were in holiday mood, preparing to celebrate the incoming new year, thieves circling in the area, were preparing to celebrate the incoming new year, with money obtained by stealing from others.
This was the reality a Laudium family realised, after receiving a phone call from a neighbour, that their home had een broken into, while they were still on holiday. Thieves had virtually stolen almost all valuable items, after ransacking the Onyx Street, Laudium home, of Cammy Pillay.
It was on Tuesday (Dec 30) shortly after midnight, that the neighbour informed Cammy that her front house gate and front door were open, which led to the Pillay family cutting short their holiday and returning home. Cammy explained further to the Laudium Sun, “We were not at home when thieves broke into our house, as we had gone on holiday during the festive season. There was no one at home and we had locked all the doors and gates properly, believing that the house was safe and secure. But I realised that I was completely wrong after I received a disturbing phone call shortly after midnight from my neighbour, informing me that our house had been broken into and that all the doors and even the front gate were wide open. My family and I were extremely concerned and immediately decided to cut short our holiday, immediately driving back home. When we arrived, to my horror, I I discovered that the thieves had not left a single item of value in my house. They stole everything, from my washing machine to two large televisions, a marble mirror, expensive clothing and jewellery. Seeing our house ransacked and empty was a shock to us. It made us realise that no one living in Laudium can even go away for a holiday and enjoy themselves anymore, without worrying that their home will be targeted by thieves waiting like vultures, before they pounce. This theft is horrifying and it makes me question why we even have police in Laudium, because it feels like there is no point if the police are not doing anything to prevent crime. Our law enforcement and the CPF Patrollers have been failing us, as crime is not only high during the festive season, but in general has reached a
very dangerous level in Laudium. I am certain that this act of crime must have been carried out by more than two persons, because the number of household items that were stolen was simply too much for one or two persons to remove alone.”
Onyx Street resident, Sahen Moodley, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard afterwards about the break-in and it is really bad, because residents cannot even leave their homes for a short while anymore, without worrying about their houses being broken into. We constantly have to stress about our homes wherever we go. The police are really not doing anything at all and the CPF is also not effective, because if the CPF Patrollers were more visible during the festive season, then break-ins like this would not have happened. Unfortunately, we live in a place where people claim to protect our area, yet they are actually failing us.”
Kaylan Naidoo, also of Onyx Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I blame the police of Laudium, who are supposed to patrol our area during the festive season and be highly visible. The Police Station is not even far from us, yet the cops did not see or hear anything, which is very strange to me. I guess the police were also on holiday and celebrating and that is why the criminals were running free in Laudium.”