With crime continuing to take place during the late nights in Laudium, it is evident that criminals are freely going about their trade, without fear of being caught by police.
It is unknown if the local CPF has addressed the issue of the high number of crimes taking place during curfew time and whether police have sufficient resources to effectively patrol the area. The flavor of the month for criminals, certainly seems to again be the theft of motor vehicle batteries. Just a few months ago, the spate of batteries being stolen from vehicles in the Laudium area escalated to a new high and now, yet again, this seems to be the situation, as at least four such thefts have been reported to the Laudium Sun, (see page 2). Criminals responsible for petty crime, many of whom are allegedly nyaopes and addicted to drugs, seemingly act on behalf of their drug suppliers, who are also big buyers of stolen goods, as to what type of goods should be stolen from the community.
In yet another incident of car battery theft, that took place last Wednesday, during curfew time, thieves again pounced on Emerald Street, between midnight and 04h00 in the early morning, targeting an older model metallic green Mercedes Benz, parked in a car port. Resident, Ayesha Noormohamed of Emerald Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I woke up early on Wednesday morning for prayers at around 04h30 in the morning and all seemed in order in the yard, when I looked out. Then, at around 06h00, when I went out to my car, on my way to work, I was so surprised as my car did not want to start. It was completely dead. At first I thought that it could be a lose wire on the battery terminal, or something similar. So, I decided to open the bonnet of my car to check. I was shocked when I saw that the car battery was missing. I then realised that someone had come into our yard and forced open my car to steal the battery. What I don’t understand is how did the thief or thieves manage to get into our yard, as we have a wall and palisade fencing and on top of it, razor barbed wire and electric fencing. It is scary to realize that no matter what we do in order to protect ourselves or our property from these thieves, they still manage to get in. Crime in Laudium has sadly become part of our lives. It is rare to not read about it in the Laudium Sun each week. We reported the incident to the police and hopefully they will do something about it. I doubt that they will get my car battery back, but at least the police must now find a way to stop the terrible crime in Laudium. I cannot understand how these criminals are freely walking the streets, especially during curfew time.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “A case of theft out of a vehicle has been reported and police are investigating the matter. No arrests have been made yet. I urge residents to come forward with any information that could help in catching the culprits in our area. Working together we can defeat crime.”
