More and more foreign nationals, who have come to South Africa for better living standards and who see the country as a good opportunity to make a living, so that they can support their families back home, are fast realising that such opportunities come with a high price tag, which is crime.
It is evident that police have lost control in combating crime effectively and more so, it seems that the Laudium police are not even interested in pro-actively fighting crime in the area. Criminals prowling the Laudium area are seemingly in free mode to commit crime at their leisure and pleasure, knowing full well that the chances of them being arrested by the local police, then being prosecuted and jailed are very slim.
This follows another local business, owned by a foreigner, being targeted this past week. Indian national, Sankar Kanagaradjie, who lives on 13th Ave, just next to the Laudium Temple and who has converted the front part of his home into a shop, was surprised to find his business, ‘Saravana’s Pooja Store’ had been ransacked, when he entered his business this past Monday morning. Sankar told the Laudium Sun, “On Monday morning my brother and I got up early, at around 6:30 am to get ready to open our shop, which is in front of where we stay. When we approached from the back, everything seemed normal, as the doors were still locked. However when we got inside, we were shocked to find the place in a mess. A lot of the prayer material was thrown on the floor including garlands, used for prayers, also strewn on the floor. We then checked the front doors and windows and all seemed to be intact. However, when I looked up at the ceiling I saw a big hole. My brother and I just could not understand how these criminals got onto the roof and came into the shop. I suspect that our shop was broken into in the early part of Monday morning, as everything was fine when we closed up late Sunday evening. We must have been fast asleep, as we did not hear anything during that night. These thieves stole all the money in the till and a few items from the shop, including a cellphone that we use for business, that was left on charge for the night. The thieves also stole the main computer box, recording the CCTV footage, so even the footage was all missing.”
Sankar’s brother, Sathiearaj told the Laudium Sun , “We discovered that the thieves walked on the sides of the inside of the shop and not in the middle, as we have an alarm sensor facing there, so we suspect that these thieves first came into our shop as customers, to check our alarms and cameras and then planned to rather come in from the roof, as we even have alarm sensors by the doors and windows. I pray that these thieves are arrested, as we work very hard to earn a living and they just come and take our money, as they don’t want to work. This is not fair. Crime in Laudium is too high.”
When approached for comment on this matter, Sergeant Simon Chokoe of the Laudium Police said that a case of business burglary has been opened and police were investigating the matter and that there had recently been other similar break-ins into businesses in the area, with the possibility that the same culprits were involved.
