Stats provided by the Department of Health, after the recent lifting of the ban on alcohol sales, showing an increase in patients being admitted to trauma units in hospitals, for alcohol related injuries, are also fast becoming a reality for local residents who are experiencing more stress, due to fights amongst residents and even friends, after excessive intakes of alcohol, to say nothing of the extra burden placed on the local police and health authorities.
This past Sunday, (March 14) another incident of alcohol consumption going out of hand took place. Deleen Naidoo, of Jacinth Street, told the Laudium Sun, “This Sunday evening, as per the norm before and after the alcohol ban, a group of people, seemingly foreigners, met outside my house, sitting and drinking opposite my house. However, things were different this time. After hours of drinking, one of the guys wanted to leave at around 9:30pm, but his car was blocked by another car, owned by one of the guys from the same group. Their cars were parked right in front of our gate. Suddenly we heard shouting and screaming, so my dad went out to hear what the problem was. He tried to make peace between the two feuding guys and to solve the problem, but then surprisingly, these two guys and their friends turned on my father. We do not know them and have never complained about them drinking or making noise outside our house, as we were too scared of repercussions. When my father told them not to fight with each other, all of a sudden they started to fight with him and then the next thing they started throwing bricks and stones into our house. They broke the car windows of almost four of the cars that are in our yard. They even hit my father with a brick on his head, badly injuring him. The shocking thing is that these guys then started to shoot randomly, making it clear to us that they were not scared of anyone. We are a peaceful, loving family and my dad did not provoke them at all. He was just trying to stop a fight from flaring up. He did not deserve to be attacked, nor was it necessary for these guys to shoot. Someone could have got killed. We have reported the matter to the police, but I am not sure if anyone will be arrested. It is so strange that the police have never stopped these guys from drinking in public, despite the police station being nearby. These guys have been gathering every Friday to Sunday evening, for a long time and drink till late at night. In fact, many times the police even pass by here, but they turn a blind eye to this wrong taking place. Are they waiting for a death to happen before they act? Our lives are at risk, but to the police, taking a bribe is more important than life.”
Shariefa Franck of Jacinth Street said, “I have been complaining for many years because of these people; the foreigners who come here with their girlfriends to drink in front of our houses. They are putting our and our children’s lives at risk. How can I feel safe or even let my children go out? I can’t even send them somewhere. My young daughters don’t feel safe here. Every weekend we have to face strange people sitting outside our homes, drinking and making a lot of noise here. Now, they are fighting with our neighbours and the police are doing nothing about it,” Shariefa concluded.
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “I have not received any information about the incident and I urge the community to contact me or the Station Commander if they have any complaints about the police.”
Jacinth Street resident, Deleen Naidoo, said her father was unfairly attacked with a brick.
The injury on the forehead of Deleen Naidoo’s father, inflicted by a thrown brick.
The house on Jacinth Street where shots were randomly fired by a drinking crowd.
Cars parked in the Naidoo yard were smashed with stones and bricks, by the drinking revellers.
