It should have been one of those rare stories with a happy ending, after a ‘Good Samaritan’ opened her heart and home to a couple, whose family was familiar to her and who she believed was desperate for a place to stay.
However, Amelia Santos of Taj Str, Laudium, was left totally shocked after the very people she had helped, took advantage of her good nature and apparently stole several valuables from her. Amelia alleged to the Laudium Sun, about the couple, Victor Swart and Chante Britz, “Around the beginning of this month, this couple came to me, desperately asking for a place to stay. Because I was familiar with the family, I offered to help them with a place to stay, so they were staying in my house. They would help me here and there and I would pay them, out of the goodness of my heart. Little did I know that they were planning something behind my back and that Victor, the boyfriend was just pretending to be a handyman. He would do a few small jobs here and there, when I was not around and I would then pay him.
“As I am preparing to leave South Africa, I had packed around 50 large bags to take with when I leave the country. The bags were left in my house, and this is where the devious couple took advantage of my soft heart. They stole many of my bags, and jewellery and destroyed the bags they could not manage to take. They were so devious that they even stole from my domestic worker, things like socks and clothes. I believe that Chante, the girlfriend, was selling the stolen stuff in her free time. I was so shocked that the very people whom I had helped just betrayed me and took many of my things. I opened a case with the police and the couple was arrested. Apparently, Victor was found with drugs and he has a criminal record. The girlfriend, Chante, confessed to her friends that they had stolen my things. I hope that justice will take its course and that the police will put them behind bars for a very long time,” Amelia alleged.
Zubeda Sulieman of Taj Str, a tenant of Amelia, said, “The crime is really bad here. I was so stunned that Amelia was robbed by the people she helped. This is very disturbing. It begs the question of humanity.”
*Attempts by the Laudium Sun to get hold of the couple for comment, were unsuccessful.
Sergeant Simon Chokoe of the Laudium SAPS said, “A case of burglary and theft has been opened and police are following all the leads. The suspects will appear in the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court soon.”
