Thief dies after ‘dealt a blow’ by Ext 3 residents – Appeal to cops to curb crime before mob justice becomes ‘the crime’

Following a number of reports of a spiraling increase in crime in the Laudium Ext 3 area, the Laudium Sun has published various reports of the crime incidents over the past few months.

It is clear that the community in the area is more than just fed-up with the ongoing crime and is constantly living in fear, even at night, with their house doors locked and all windows shut. Over the past three weeks in particular, the Laudium Sun has reported on a number of incidents, where residents in the area, were either attacked by criminals or their premises targeted by criminals, causing residents to barricade themselves and panic at the slightest unfamiliar sound in their yards.

This also follows reports that a mother living in the area, (near Bengal & Kathmandu) went hysterical and was heard screaming on the street in the early hours of the morning of Friday Sept 9, believing that her baby was ‘stolen’ by a thief, only to later learn that a domestic worker had ‘hidden’ the baby out of fear of thieves, who were spotted in the yard that early morning. In what some described as ‘mob justice,’ a suspect was later caught in one of the yards, and was ‘dealt’ with, by frustrated residents in the area, to the point that the suspect required urgent medical attention.

The Laudium Sun reported at the time that the suspect could not be arrested, but was rather admitted in hospital, due to the injuries he sustained. After that Friday, it has now emerged that the suspect was actually involved in another incident that Friday morning, on Bengal Street, during which a resident was hit on the head, after a thief was spotted in his yard.

In the latest developments, Kathmandu Street resident, Nordin Marian, told the Laudium Sun, “It was on the previous Friday at around 4am in the morning when myself, my wife and kids were asleep in our house, while my brother and his two sons were asleep in the outbuilding, when we were awoken after receiving a call from our tenant, who also lives in the same yard, saying that they believe there were thieves in our yard, as they were hearing some strange noises. My wife and I got up, but didn’t put any of the lights on or make a loud sound, as we did not want the thieves to know that we were awake. We sat up waiting to hear the sounds for ourselves, but could not hear anything strange. However, after a few minutes, just as we were thinking of going back to bed, we could hear someone trying to unscrew the door. I immediately called my brother and explained to him the situation. We then decided that we would all go out together, to see what was actually happening and if we found anyone in the yard we would together catch them. As my brother’s son went out the thief didn’t see him, but he was waiting for me and the other family members to come out, before approaching the thief. When I came out from the house, the thief spotted me and made a run. As he passed me, he hit me with a pole, before I could even try to stop him. I fell down and could not remember what happened after that, only to find myself in hospital. Although I have since been discharged, I am suffering with brain injuries because of the thief who tried to break into our home. I was unable to open a case at the time as I was hospitalized. We are living in danger in Laudium. I would like to question where are our police and why are they not doing their job by patrolling our streets?”

The Laudium Sun also spoke to Collen Naidoo, the sister-in-law of Nordin, who said, “It was around 4am that Friday morning when we received a call that someone was in our yard. However, when the men all went out to see what was happening, l was inside. Then I heard my husband screaming that the crook hit his brother across the head and he is unconscious. While that was happening my two sons ran and caught the guy and held him down while my sister in-law called for help from the neighbours and on the WhatsApp groups. We also called the police and the ambulance to treat my brother-in-law. In that time one of the neighbors came running, confirming that the guy who was caught, was indeed the guy who tried to break into our house half an hour earlier. Then, members from the community came from all over and started beating the guy who was caught, which was like ‘mob justice,’ because he hit my brother in-law over the head with a pole causing him head and brain injuries. When the police and paramedics arrived my brother-in-law and the guy that was caught, were taken to Kalafong Hospital. We have now heard that the guy who was caught since passed away in hospital. We have heard that he was the same guy who also broke into someone’s home on Kathmandu Street, the day before and stole a TV, radio and other belongings from the house.

Sgt Simon Chokoe of the Laudium Police confirmed that the suspect arrested by the community had since passed on and added, “A case was opened for assault after a resident was hit on the head and a case of murder was also opened, after the suspect died due to the severe and multiple injuries he sustained, after allegedly being assaulted by the community. Both matters are under investigation and we call on whoever has any information to assist the police in their investigations, to contact us urgently.”