Whilst many residents are living in fear, due to the ongoing levels of crime in the Laudium/Erasmia area committed by thieves, who prowl the streets looking for their next victim, there also seems to be a marked increase in crime committed internally by domestic workers and at times, even security guards.
Despite repeated calls by the police and the Laudium Sun, for employers to vet prospective employees before hiring them, employers of mainly domestic workers continue to hire just about anyone from the street without having finger prints, the latest photos and a copy of the ID of their domestic worker, which should be kept away by a friend or a relative.
In one of the latest incidents of crime suspected to be committed over a period of three years by a domestic worker, Laudium employer Farana Tai, a resident on Lotus Street, described to the Laudium Sun, her frightening discovery concerning her once very trusted maid. “I worked for a company for many years. I used to leave for work early in the morning and return late in the afternoon, without having time to do chores at home other than cooking and I was very dependent on my domestic worker, whom I trusted completely. She had free access to all our rooms and kept the house tidy each day. However, I left my job three months ago and since then I started taking a greater responsibility toward the upkeep of our house. As the weeks passed, I slowly started realizing that many things were missing from my house. First, it was the little things, which I did not think much about, but then as time passed, I realized that more and more items were missing and more so, these were items that I had bought during the past three years. So they had to be items that went missing whilst my last maid was working for me. About three weeks back, after we went into level 2 of the lockdown, I was looking for some new pots that I had bought just before the lockdown. I needed these as we had decided to invite family over because of the relaxation of gatherings. I was so shocked when I could not find the pots in my spare room. At first, I thought maybe I had misplaced them, because no one had access to my spare rooms except my maid, whom I completely trusted. There were four new pots, just missing. A few days later, I was looking for some summer clothes, which I had kept away just before the start of winter this year. I looked all over the rooms but could not find three outfits. They were just missing, gone. There were also other items, like electrical items missing. I started to feel very uncomfortable, because it was obvious that someone had stolen the items and that it was an inside job because the rooms were not forced open nor any windows broken, for anyone to enter our home. All our outer boundaries are secured and we even have razor wire, and there was absolutely no sign of a break-in. So my only suspect was my maid who had the keys to all our rooms and who was left alone at home many times during the day. When I confronted her about the missing items, she denied knowing anything about it, and cooked up some story when I asked her who else could have stolen the items. I was certainly not convinced that she was innocent and thus I could not keep her anymore as my trust in her was completely broken, although I did not have any proof that it was she who had stolen my things. So, last week, I paid her three weeks’ notice period and all other monies that were due to her, but she still went to the CCMA to report me for unfair dismissal. I feel so betrayed by her. That’s how our lives have now become. We cannot trust anyone. I have decided to rather do the household chores myself, instead of hiring a domestic. I also reported the matter to the police, but they did not arrest my maid.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “A case of burglary has been opened and the police are investigating. No arrests have been made yet. I urge anyone who might have information regarding the case to contact us. Working together we can stop crime.”
