An unpleasant, yet usual occurrence of a geyser that burst, turned into a nightmare for an 83-year-old resident of Impala Park.
This resident has lived in Boksburg since 1980 and for a decade in her home in Impala Park. With family and friends close by that check in with her daily, she felt quite safe in her community.
“I am not scared as I am very vigilant and have an alarm system and carry a panic button on a lanyard around my neck,” said the resident who wishes to remain anonymous.
When her house flooded with water in July due to the faulty geyser, her son immediately phoned the insurance company who handed a company the task of repairing the damage.
“The supervisor came to do measurements for the floor replacements and informed me that the workers will be supervised while working in my house.”
She said this was not the case as 10 workers showed up and took over her house for several days.
“They made a mess of my bathroom, ate in my house, left papers and food lying around everywhere. I made them tea and stayed out of their way, but there was no supervisor to be seen.
“I caught one of them walking around in my bedroom. This was strange as I closed all the bedroom doors because they were only working in the living room.”
“On the last day that they were working, the same man I caught in my bedroom asked me a series of questions, such as ‘do I live alone?’, ‘why do I walk with a cane?’, and ‘what’s wrong with my leg?’. He seemed concerned and I answered him, but I was naive.”
Two days after construction finished, she went to visit her family and upon return she was shocked to find that the hidden security system in the garage was broken out, her front door and security gate broke open with a crowbar and her jewellery box in her top drawer in her bedroom had been taken.
“It was about R100 000 worth of items in that silver box. No one could have known it was there. I was an easy target.”
The Boksburg North SAPS responded to the incident and took fingerprints, but no progress has been made on the case thus far.
The Boksburg North SAPS provides a number of house robbery safety tips.
If your house has been broken into:
- Contact your nearest police station immediately.
- Wait until fingerprints and statements are taken before touching anything.
- Do not allow private security companies to enter the house or touch anything before the police have arrived.
- A list of all the makes, models and serial numbers of electrical appliances and other valuable equipment should always be available for investigation purposes.
Prevent house robbery and theft:
- Make provision for good outside lighting, but switch off the lights during the day. Outside lights that are on during the day and post that are left in the gate, are signs of no one being at home.
- Never just open the door when the bell rings. Make sure of who it is.
- A watchdog is a good early warning system. However, take precautions against possible dog poisoning.
- Always check the identity of strangers who visit for business purposes.
- Report suspicious characters loitering, asking for piece jobs.
- Install the best security systems you can afford.
- When approaching your home, ensure that it is safe to enter and that you have not been followed. Be aware of persons loitering near the entrance.
- Know your neighbours and build a relationship of mutual trust. When going away, inform them to keep a lookout on your property. Endeavour to discuss the environment daily.
- If you buy luxurious goods, cut up the boxes and dispose of them in black bags. A branded box is a tell-tale sign of what thieves could find in your house.
- Be alert of being followed from shopping malls, restaurants, banks and ATMs.
- You must be alert at all times and report suspicious people and vehicles to 10111 without delay.
Be patient and allow the SAPS to collect the necessary evidence from the scene of the crime as that would greatly enhance the probability of an arrest and successful prosecution.
Remember to dial 10111 in case of all emergencies.
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