Being a victim of crime in Laudium is now fast becoming the norm, with many residents who have been victims, believing that they should just be thankful that they or their families were not hurt or attacked during the incident.
Where residents are attacked during a robbery, then to, as victims, they lift their hands in prayer, thanking the Almighty that neither they nor their families were seriously hurt or even worse, killed. Such is the situation in South Africa and even in Laudium where crime just continues, without the Station Commissioner taking any blame or any responsibility. Once more, during curfew time, a home was targeted by thieves, presumably nyaopes, last Thursday, between midnight, when one of the family members was last in the yard and all seemed in order and just before 5:00 in the morning, when they woke for their morning prayer. In the latest incident, a Taj Street home owner and her family could not believe their eyes, when they awoke early in the morning and one of them stepped out of the house to do her normal chores, in the yard, just before morning prayers. Taj Street resident, Khadija Omar, told the Laudium Sun, “We awoke as usual for morning prayers and I went outside in the yard to do a few things before the prayer. I was shocked to see that a portion of our fence had been stolen. It was just gone! I shouted for my family who rushed out and were all just as much in shock. Although I always read, in the Laudium Sun about crime carried out by nyaopes, who steal anything they can get their hands on, for some reason it never registered in my mind that we could be the next victim. More so, not in my wildest imagination did I think that these thieves would steal a piece of our palisade fencing, by just cutting it and removing it. The crime situation is really bad in Laudium. How dangerous has this community become? So now they are even stealing what we use to secure ourselves and property with. I think these nyaope boys hanging around the streets the whole day are responsible for this theft. I want to know where they sell these items that they steal, because obviously there is a buyer for all this stolen property, someone living in the area. How can we live like this as a community, where we can’t even live in peace and safety in our own homes. I have heard of thieves stealing the fences of the municipality and at the graveyard, but now from our homes? This is very dangerous because it means we are just wasting our time and money by putting up security fencing around our homes. I am just glad that the thieves did not enter our yard or home. It could have been much worse for us. I just hope that the police will catch the culprits and ensure that this case is properly presented in court so that the thieves can be jailed. Otherwise this country will slide into anarchy, with no law and order.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “A case of a stolen fence has been opened, and the investigation is underway. No arrests have been made yet. I urge the community not to buy any suspicious items or stolen items because this will reduce the drive of criminals, as they will have no one to sell their stolen items to.”
