Criminals posing as beggars or pretending to be looking for work, continue to harass residents, on a daily basis, with police refusing or not willing to take any action to stop these culprits.
Residents say that these imposters, many of whom are on drugs, and are more commonly known as nyaopes, enter their yards, or ring the doorbell from outside gates, pretending to look for work, but in actual fact scout around to see what they can steal quickly, so that they can earn a few rand to buy their habit forming drugs.
The Laudium Sun receives complaints on a regular basis, from irate residents complaining of items being stolen from their yards or even
outside their house. Theft of garden water taps, water pipes, outside light fittings, dustbins and even pot plants are just some of the many items that these nyaopes target on a regular basis. No item, big or small is safe from the hands of these thieves, who freely prowl the streets of Laudium, looking for their next target. Despite local police claiming to be patrolling the streets of Laudium diligently, these thieving nyaopes are allowed to walk freely on the streets of Laudium, without being questioned or searched by the police.
This is the difficult lesson a housewife learnt recently, when her dustbin went missing, within minutes of being emptied outside, by the Municipal garbage truck. Kistamah Pillay of 15th Ave, Laudium, explained to the Laudium Sun, the events of this past Tuesday (Nov 8), that led to the discovery of her missing dustbin, which was kept outside her home, to be emptied by the Municipal garbage crew. Kistamah, said, “I have been living in Laudium for over 30 years, but over the past 5 years, Laudium has become a place of disaster to live in. It is getting worse by the day. On Tuesday morning, my maid took our new dustbin outside, as it was the day scheduled for the Council to empty our bins. The truck came just before 3pm, at around 2:55pm, and after the bin was emptied, they left it in the front of our house, right in front of our gate. I was in front so after I saw the waste truck leaving, I immediately asked my maid to fetch the bin and I then went into the kitchen. My maid was busy inside with some work, so she just finished that and not even 5 minutes later went out to fetch the dustbin. The next thing, I heard the maid screaming, I quickly went out and that is when she told me that the dustbin was gone. I was totally shocked. How could someone so quickly steal our bin, which had our street number in big painted on it. None of our neighbours saw anyone taking it, but I suspect that one of these vagrants who often walk past on our street, could be responsible for the theft, as they walk slowly and watch all our yards carefully. I must just say that this is not the first time that we have experienced something gone missing from us. A month ago, our front gate was open as my husband had just returned from the shops. He left the car open as he was busy taking out the things that he bought, bringing them into the house. When he went back to the car, to park it properly and close the gate, he realised that the car battery was missing when he tried starting the car. Crime is way too high in our area. Even our neighbours fell victim to crime many times. These thieves are walking around freely, whilst
we live like prisoners in our own homes. No one feels safe in their homes anymore.”
Sadiq Bhamjee, also 15th Ave, told the Laudium Sun, “I sit in the front everyday, but I think that the thief watched me and grabbed the dustbin when I went inside the house for something. Laudium has become very unsafe. That is why those who can afford it are moving to the security estates. I can’t understand why the police are not taking any action to stop this ongoing crime. Each week we read in the Laudium Sun about all this crime, yet the police and the politicians are doing nothing about it.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe of the Laudium Police, told the Laudium Sun that he was not aware of the theft of the dustbin, as the matter was not reported to the police, adding, “We will however increase patrols in the area.”
