Crime in the Laudium CBD continues to be of concern to both shoppers and businesses who are once again calling for the local police to introduce police patrols on foot or even bicycle, armed with a two-way radio to immediately call for back up.
This follows the theft of an expensive cellphone that was left on the counter by the cellphone shop owner, for just a minute. The theft incident which was captured on CCTV and left the owner speechless at the time, has once more highlighted the fact that criminals are so easily stealing and getting away with it, without ever being arrested and prosecuted.
This follows an incident that took place the previous Wednesday at around 2pm in the afternoon, at PCC Cell Repair on Tangerine Street,(Laudium Hotel) in the Laudium CBD. Owner of the business, Fahad Azeem told the Laudium Sun, “I left my cellphone on the counter for just a minute, while fixing another cellphone. My attention then went to the news on the TV, which was switched on at the time. Two black guys, seemingly South African, at that time entered the shop and left the security gate wide open. The one guy asked me if we deal with cellphones and the other guy kept the other staff busy by enquiring about earpods. I thought that he was seriously wanting to buy a cellphone so I explained to him politely that we repair phones and sell only phone accessories. I didn’t suspect anything and carried on repairing the phone I was busy with, while the guy was looking at the accessories. Just when I turned looking at the TV, the guy who asked me about selling cellphones, grabbed my phone that was laying on the counter and ran away. I was totally shocked, I could not believe what I had just witnessed. This guy was so daring. I started screaming and that is when my staff realised what had happened. My staff and I immediately ran out, but this guy was so fast, he just disappeared. We later found out that the guy who was looking at the earpod was with the guy who stole my cellphone as they together jumped into a Black Toyota Yaris which was waiting for them as a getaway vehicle. Crime in Laudium is getting very bad. We are living like prisoners in our houses and businesses.”
Suffiyan Khunkhna a salesman at PCC Cell Repair, told the Laudium Sun, “We see customers all the time and this theft was least expected. The guy who I served for the earpod, seemed genuine as he even paid for it and then walked out of the store. I suspect that he walked out of the store to check the surroundings so that his partner could finish his job by stealing the phone and running out of the store. We are no longer safe here in Laudium, even in the shop, because even if we try to catch these thieves, we are unsure if they are armed or not. We could have so easily gotten killed or injured in this incident, if they were armed. The police need to patrol the area of the shops. This thief just got away after stealing a cellphone worth R10 000. How can that be right? We work really hard for a living and these brazen thieves just take whatever they want without being caught. Crime is getting out of control and we, in our shops, are very easy targets for these thieves.”
