Count 1: May 25... Forge Str
A Forge Street family left their Wespark house unattended for only about an hour but, on their return, found that their home had been ransacked by thieves.
It was around 9pm last Friday, May 25, when Jasmine Swarts and her family returned home to a disaster. A distraught Jasmine spoke about the incident to the Laudium Sun, “My family and I went out for supper that evening. We must've left home at around 7.30pm and, when we got home, I had just opened my front door when I noticed that everything in the kitchen was thrown all over the place. Our back gate and door were also wide open. It was really frightening and we weren't sure if the criminals were still inside our home. When we went inside with the police, everything was scattered all over the place. All our clothes had been thrown everywhere. It looked as though the house was hit by a huge hurricane or something. We wanted to check what exactly was missing, but the police then told us that the fingerprint guys would come and we should not touch anything," Jasmine recalled.
"It's been close to two weeks now and we are still waiting for those fingerprint guys. Did they expect us not to touch anything for two weeks? It’s ridiculous. The crime-rate in our country is already way too high and these police just seem to let criminals slip through their fingers. Take my case for example, we will probably never know if the thieves left any fingerprints in my house, which could have led to their arrest and possibly two or three fewer criminals roaming our streets. Our cops have to be more alert and on their toes. They need to start doing what all our tax money is paying them to do…fight crime, " Jasmine concluded.
Jasmine Swarts says our police should be more alert and on their toes.
The ransacked Wespark home, where the victims are still waiting for police fingerprint experts.
Count 2: May 26... Maggs Str
Despite police assurances that they would respond 'immediately' to a burglary, a Maggs Street resident waited for hours and hours for police to pitch up at his ransacked house.
Yusuf Sulaiman's Wespark home was broken into during broad daylight, last Saturday (May 26).
"I left home at around 2.30pm on Saturday to attend a get-together," Yusuf said, adding that he didn't have the slightest suspicion of the nasty surprise that would await him on his return.
"When I got home later, I found my kitchen door broken," he recalled irately. "I ran into my house and saw things strewn about everywhere. All the cupboards had been opened and kitchen utensils were scattered everywhere.
"After the initial shock, I noticed that our microwave and other appliances were also missing. I quickly went through the rest of the rooms to see what else was stolen but, it seemed that the creeps had not entered the rest of the house,” Yusuf said, somewhat relieved.
"I quickly went to the Pretoria West police station to report the matter and was told that they would immediately send someone over. But, their understanding of the word 'immediately' was clearly different from mine. Shockingly, the cops only arrived at my house to conduct their investigations a day later," Yusuf exclaimed, adding, "I was then told by the police that they would dispatch the fingerprint guys 'immediately' but, once again, these fingerprints people outdid the police, only pitching up a whole two days later. By then, there was no use in them even coming, because I had already replaced my door for reasons of safety. I couldn't sleep knowing that my door was broken, as this would just be an open invitation to other criminals. What did these cops expect; that I would hang around with a broken door, just waiting for them? I am extremely disappointed with the pathetic service I received from the police. It is completely unacceptable. They aren't doing their job, which is to protect us. Really, what kind of service is this? Our police officers need to catch a major wake-up and stop sleeping on duty," added the angered Yusuf.
Maggs Street resident, Yusuf Sulaiman, is shocked at the tardy police response.