After yet another incident of armed robbery in Laudium, that took place on Wednesday evening (December 8) at around 9pm, on Tangerine Street in the Laudium CBD, residents and businesses are once more calling on the police to beef up patrols in the area, with police seemingly having the attitude that they need not account to the community.
To date, police are yet to respond to simple queries of the community such as; how many patrol vehicles and personnel there are on any given shift and how many vehicles are waiting to be repaired. It is also unknown as to how many police officials are on sick leave or how many police dockets have successfully been concluded in court and how many have been closed prior to suspects even appearing before court. So, while the community remains in the dark about police capability to fight crime in the area, they have to face crime each day, with police nowhere to be found. In the recent incident of another robbery, Muhammad Usmani, the owner of the Global World Enterprise, told the Laudium Sun, “It was around 9pm and my staff and I were still in the shop as most of the shops in our complex close at 10pm during the summer. We get a lot of people who work during the day, who shop at night and we also wholesale to customers who have small retail shops outside Laudium and who only get a chance to buy stock for their shops at night, when they return home. So, we were left with an hour to close, when suddenly whilst inside the shop, we heard a commotion outside. Some of us went outside to check, but when we got back, one of us was still going into the shop, three guys came in, and pushed one of our guys who was still near the door inside. The one guy pointed a gun at me and the other at our customers inside. They told me to keep my hands up, as I was behind the counter and they told me not to move. One of the thugs had a bag and jumped over the counter and took all the money from the till. There was a customer inside the shop and they took all the money he had and also took his cellphone. Whilst the crooks were taking cellphones from the showcase and also other items, another crook was standing guard at the door and another one was keeping watch from outside, which we saw later on the CCTV footage. One can see from the footage that the area was busy and so many people were walking around, yet these thieves were not scared of being caught and brazenly attacked us. This shows that they are not afraid at all of the law. This is the first time that something like this has happened to us, and it is a very traumatizing experience. I would not wish it on anyone; seeing a gun pointed at you, when you realize that at any given moment, you could die. Luckily, no one was hurt in the shop. After they took whatever they wanted, they then left the shop and headed towards Mochachos. We all gave chase when the crooks started running away and one of my brothers started throwing stones at them, but then the crooks fired a shot in the air, so we all ran back. It’s about time that the police put all these crooks in jail.”
Sushant Singh, the owner of Spice Kings, which is next door to Global World, told the Laudium Sun, “While I was in my shop, a black guy came and stood at the entrance of the door. I found that very suspicious, so I then left my counter and went to towards the door and asked him, if I could assist him, as I did not want a confrontation. He then said, he was waiting for his brother, but when I looked again I noticed a gun in his waist. I realized there was a problem and quickly pushed him away from the shop door, as I wanted to close the gate, but he blocked me, so I was stuck inside. But then he ran out and I saw the opportunity to also run out as I was afraid that he may come back again. But when I ran out, that is when I saw the other thugs running away from the next door cellphone shop, with the owners chasing after them. I realized that their shop had been robbed. It was a very bad experience. Laudium is certainly no longer safe, and the crime is affecting our business. How can we live like this with no law and order? Something must be done to stop this crime wave. The police need to get their act together.”
Chairperson of the Laudium Business Forum, Shaheen Osman, said, “The Laudium Business Forum members are very unhappy with the lack of police patrols and police visibility in the CBD. Business owners have asked how many SAPS vehicles are operational during this festive season and why there are no roadblocks at the entrances of Laudium as well as no visible policing in the area. We have asked the Station Commander to respond and arrange same.”
*To see video footage of the robbery, see our Laudium Sun FB page.
CCTV footage showing the armed robbers at Global World Enterprise on Tangerine Str in Laudium.
