It is a given that criminals have their tentacles all over Laudium, and that no place is safe to walk or drive or even just go for shopping, without the risk of being attacked.
It is also evident that no time of the day or night can be regarded as safe, be it early morning or late afternoon or even late night during curfew time, as residents need to remain alert, while they continue to live in fear, not knowing when or who the next victim of crime would be. It is clear that residents cannot depend on the police for their safety and it is also clear that the local police are not protecting residents as expected, in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
This hard lesson was learnt by the Pillay family of Crimson Street, Laudium, when a father and daughter were attacked in broad daylight last Monday, as they quickly walked home during lunch time, at around 1pm, from their place of work, on the busy Bengal Street. Resident, Lalitha Pillay explained to the Laudium Sun, the events that unfolded that day, which traumatized her husband and daughter Remishka, after they were attacked. “Every day, I cook lunch for my daughter, Remishka and her daddy, as they usually come home during their lunch time. They work at Rand Pharmacy at the HS Center and it takes them less then 10 minutes to walk from there to our home, as they come down Bengal Street and cut across the small park after passing the bridge. But, on this fateful Monday, when my daughter came in for lunch, she looked very down. I could sense something was wrong so I asked her what was troubling her and she immediately burst into tears. I thought maybe something happened at work or maybe she had been fired, as she was very traumatized. I then asked her daddy what was wrong and he did not answer. But, whilst trying to make him talk, my daughter burst out and told me that they had just been robbed. She explained that she and her dad had just walked down Bengal Street. Then, just before they passed the bridge, and could cut on to the open park coming towards our street, two black guys came from behind and attacked them. The thieves managed to steal Remishka’s phone and they then ran down the bridge steps, joining Military Road and disappeared. My husband tried to chase after them, but at the steps going down, he fell and got injured. My husband and daughter suspected it was the nyaope boys who accosted them. Laudium is becoming extremely dangerous for it’s residents, with crime taking place every day. One just has to read the Laudium Sun, to learn about all the crime. Slowly but surely we are all falling victim to crime. If it’s not me today, then it’s my neighbor, or a friend or a relative. Every day we hear about crime. It’s like these criminals know that we, as law- abiding citizens, can’t do anything to them. Something urgent has to be done about the crime. The community has to unite and stand up against these criminals, who are terrorizing us.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “A case of robbery has been opened and police are investigating. It is alleged that two suspects robbed the victim of her cellphone near Bengal Street. No arrests have been made yet. I urge anyone who might have information about the incident to contact us. Working together we can curb crime.”
