A Wespark pensioner and his son-in-law are horrified by the tardy response of the Pretoria West police, after they just watched a pair of armed thugs casually stroll off, subsequent to robbing them.
Pensioner Rishen Ramsingh complained that it took more than 30 minutes for the “unreliable” police officers to respond to the awful incident of armed robbery, outside their Maggs Street, Wespark, home.
Rishen and his son-in-law, Oliver Naidoo, were held at gunpoint by the pair of criminals, who robbed them of their personal belongings, last Wednesday (June 20) just outside his house.
Rishen related to the Laudium Sun that he had seen the very thugs sprawled under the branches of a tree, outside his house, on a patch of shaded grass, earlier, but did not suspect they were criminals. “I just thought they were shielding themselves from the blazing sun,” he said.
According to Rishen, they were in the middle of doing a DIY repair to the palisade fencing at his house when they were accosted by the thugs, who pounced while they were welding a small gate.
"One of the creeps held my son-in-law at gunpoint, while the other one came straight for me. The hoodlum who was trying to rob me did not have a gun, so as he tried to search me, I resisted and pushed him.
"While I was wrestling with this criminal, his accomplice turned his gun on me, whereupon my son-in-law told me to stop resisting immediately…and leave them to do as they wanted," the grandfather recalled bitterly to the Laudium Sun.
“The pair of robbers took our cell phones, cash and other personal items we had on us, before strolling away, as if they had done nothing wrong, casually crossing the road and effortlessly making their getaway,” Rishen exclaimed.
The still visibly shocked victim recounted how he had gone into the house immediately, to try and compose himself after the incident, but not before asking his son-in-law to call the police, immediately.
“Oliver called both the police and my eldest daughter, Karishma Begum, who resides in Laudium. If the police had responded swiftly then they could have definitely arrested the robbers who were audaciously just strolling away," said the elderly Rishen.
"My daughter even arrived from Laudium before our own police did," he exclaimed.
According to Oliver, after 30 odd minutes, the police finally arrived at the Maggs Street house but, instead of rushing off in the direction the robbers had disappeared – they bumbled about, 'wasting a lot of time', insisting on the serial numbers of the stolen cellphones to prove that the victimised pair had indeed been robbed.
"I even asked them politely to please quickly look for the suspects, as they were on foot, but by the time the police eventually went in search of the criminals, it was too late. The criminals were long gone!” Rishen said.
Karishma added, “I always used to trust the cops but after this incident, I realise that the police are just not interested in arresting criminals,” said the disappointed housewife.
Captain Agnes Huma of the Pretoria West police confirmed the robbery to the Laudium Sun and assured the team that she would follow-up on the allegations surrounding the tardy police response.
Oliver Naidoo is still stunned after being robbed of his cellphone and cash, by armed thugs.
The Maggs Street, Wespark, home outside where pensioner Rishen and his son-in-law, Oliver, were accosted by a pair of audacious criminals.