South Africa P.I.G.: THEFT

Showing posts with label THEFT. Show all posts

Farmer Brutally Murdered, body dragged behind bakkie

North West police have confirmed that a farmer was murdered and his corpse dragged behind his bakkie outside Ottosdal on Saturday night. <div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw97n6mhv-sdNqO2skhj2UiNSpfs50crX0arAXZfoIFNKf0M3juzA-kQ6lfLZAtJJgWtNwZcs7k6soXONrfJLH_hwbBw0zaUVN339Q-OMvYSyZ_27-CJJsZvxMS0v1MtKIvorUmn_S2S9T/s1600/farm%252520murders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw97n6mhv-sdNqO2skhj2UiNSpfs50crX0arAXZfoIFNKf0M3juzA-kQ6lfLZAtJJgWtNwZcs7k6soXONrfJLH_hwbBw0zaUVN339Q-OMvYSyZ_27-CJJsZvxMS0v1MtKIvorUmn_S2S9T/s320/farm%252520murders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>According to police : "At about 8pm three suspects entered a 49-year-old farmer's house... They held him at gunpoint while they ransacked the house for money. "They shot him in the chest, the back, and in the head, then used [the farmer's] bakkie to drag him for about 1.2km before the bakkie rolled." When police arrived on the scene the farmer's body was still tied to the Toyota LDV which was on the Ottosdal-Delareyville road. One of the alleged murderers was arrested there and led police to his two accomplices. It was suspected that some cattle may have been stolen in the attack. Cases of murder, house robbery, theft of motor vehicle, stock theft and illegal firearm possession had been opened against the three arrested men.

Farmer Brutally Murdered, body dragged behind bakkie

North West police have confirmed that a farmer was murdered and his corpse dragged behind his bakkie outside Ottosdal on Saturday night. Acc...

7:43 AM

Police call for tax boycott as taxpayers become accessories to crime

<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbSFOlLYTOL5TreGZVIaY4giL7-uZ839wWAM0do7d00bOtL_Xw_JWSrpQ_vT_G_J_4ITWSS0-Qbp4_EUoiyejojCbTS-ASaWA0PdjnWaEwERngmZ8QS-hf4FRBGkb97mA7u4u-avgI6A-/s1600/parody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbSFOlLYTOL5TreGZVIaY4giL7-uZ839wWAM0do7d00bOtL_Xw_JWSrpQ_vT_G_J_4ITWSS0-Qbp4_EUoiyejojCbTS-ASaWA0PdjnWaEwERngmZ8QS-hf4FRBGkb97mA7u4u-avgI6A-/s1600/parody.jpg" /></a>The police and other corruption-busting organisations have warned South Africans to stop paying tax, saying that citizens are knowingly becoming accessories to crime by funding a shady gang of confidence tricksters, fraudsters, embezzlers and petty thieves known throughout the criminal underworld as “the South African government”.</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyevB1GFW6otibdpM22pVNYrpiIdd2C9dQ8QZ3bqHjAH9xtvwwjgsHQMJnQgelE1IjZuGNVhXqXjm5LnKc77kDD9OM5ulRq2CIUMfwQxOTqs6E7wk_A_aEvBf_XhGtQt19TSN2ROZJ6ov/s1600/newsweek_cover+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyevB1GFW6otibdpM22pVNYrpiIdd2C9dQ8QZ3bqHjAH9xtvwwjgsHQMJnQgelE1IjZuGNVhXqXjm5LnKc77kDD9OM5ulRq2CIUMfwQxOTqs6E7wk_A_aEvBf_XhGtQt19TSN2ROZJ6ov/s400/newsweek_cover+copy.jpg" width="240" /></a>According to recent estimates, around R100-billion is stolen by corrupt public officials every year, thanks largely to a massive annual heist known to government criminals as “tax season”. “As far as we can tell there’s a front operation, fairly legit, they’ve got offices and everything,” explained lead investigator Colombo Phiri. “There’s a big blue sign over the door that says ‘SARS’, and every year during the ‘tax season’ heist they rake in about R350-billion of swag.” He added that once the loot was safely in SARS’s vaults, the “Government Gang” usually stole between 25 and 30 percent of it, depending on the current price of BMWs, the amount of patronage they needed to buy from regional ANC Youth League commissars, and the number of political opponents they needed to assassinate in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Phiri conceded that up to R100-billion was also being stolen in the private sector every year, but said less fuss was made of this for one major reason. “The main difference is that citizens are not required by law to hand over 30 percent of their earnings to patently corrupt companies,” he said. “It’s not like you go to jail if you refuse to shop at your friendly neighbourhood arms dealer.” However, he said, the law was the law and taxpayers who willingly funded organised crime – or extremely disorganised organised crime, as in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga – could expect no mercy. “When you fill in that tax return and write that cheque, you know that 30 percent of your money is going straight into the slush fund of some self-entitled mouth-breather with a Grade 9 education and a cousin in the Youth League,” he said. “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” He added that those who flouted the law by paying tax would be prosecuted, unless prosecutors accidentally shredded and then burnt their dockets after being bought off with tax revenue. “Do the right thing. Stash your salary under your mattress and if you see anyone who works for the government, from a local councillor right up to cabinet ministers, do not approach them but rather go to a safe place, keeping your money well out of sight, and call the police immediately.” source: hayibo.com </div></div>

Police call for tax boycott as taxpayers become accessories to crime

The police and other corruption-busting organisations have warned South Africans to stop paying tax, saying that citizens are knowingly beco...

6:10 AM

Why are SA cops “shocked” at murder and hijacking of British tourist?

<div align="center">Over 700 people have been murdered in Gugulethu since 2005</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540319033938058642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcnYYJzd6GAShaP95pCb4Jx959La22si0lRkcpz6_2GZtmNBnhzVGK1hVJREnA8n1J8vhm4LNOQmQJNF9QH8W0SI9GYqOeMaMBBhjIaRgv6LRLwGVzr9pPai32kKR6UENH6-tEbhuh7Ns/s400/cape-gugulethu.gif" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 173px; CURSOR: hand" /> <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540315875350663730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5bf1FFmUJmLLSshLkw0YZcz_NAcz0xxGnewNtU0QTXcixTgkioyurx3ziX22L1X36ElHdUdUV0uzNnFKPBq5NPVE5lmeHh6PPwj0X4foAU0BizflxcIbj5NCqAkiEV3TokL55MQdE_rd/s400/mzoli-meat_1762191i.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 305px; CURSOR: hand" /> <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540321530760197650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBd9AO6CnaP4bBVZJer2Gkak5VaAmLSnHuWSyPil-csux5c6j9IChwgx3VwFoRUL0H94z1MSnlPIbEifg4le229mBr3lvnsTDySI8CFn9lafrgSIkVpVxZRsxtFPQ83WL6AfNNyJKQSMy/s400/MZOLI%2527S.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" /> Mzoli's - Gugulethu township in Cape Town an outdoor barbecue restaurant and bar which bills itself as an ‘authentic taste of township life’. Jamie Oliver visited it last year and in a seven-page spread in his magazine, described the food as ‘heaven’ and ‘totally sexy’. He added: ‘In this part of the world, fresh is where it’s at. Just kill it. Gut it. Skin it. Eat it.’ ‘When I go back to Cape Town, I am absolutely going to Mzoli’s.’ The <a href="http://www.sairr.org.za/media/media-releases/Police%20out%20of%20touch%20with%20reality%20over%20Gugulethu%20murder.pdf/view">SA Institute of Race Relations</a> questioned why the South African police were “shocked” at the murder and hijacking of a British tourist. As international and local media agencies have reported a British national and his wife were attacked in the township of Gugulethu on the urban periphery of Cape Town while honeymooning in the city. The couple were kidnapped by armed robbers and the wife was later found murdered. In response to media coverage the <a href="http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71656?oid=211229&sn=Detail&pid=71616">South African Police Force has released a statement</a> expressing "shock" at the murder. The police are out of touch with reality for expressing shock at the murder of a tourist in Gugulethu in Cape Town, the SA Institute of Race Relations said on Tuesday. "Data in the possession of the South African Institute of Race Relations shows that over 700 people have been murdered in Gugulethu since 2005. In the year to March 2010 some 110 murders occurred within the Gugulethu police precinct," the SAIRR said. "This amounts to one murder every two-and-a-half days for five consecutive years. How under such circumstances can the police claim to be ‘shocked’ or surprised at what happened to the British couple?" The SAIRR said if the police were truly shocked, then it suggested that "the police’s senior management is out of touch with the reality of life on the ground for people in areas such as Gugulethu who have been left to run the gauntlet of violent crime on a horrific scale". The institute said it was "revealing" that it took the murder of a foreign national for the police's senior management to take stock of the state of affairs in Gugulethu. 'This murder of a newlywed woman has become the symbol of our country' Many South Africans rightly deserve to feel deeply let down by the performance of their government and insulted when it feigns shock and surprise at violence that has become commonplace in South Africa. We live in a country where human life means absolutely nothing to violent thugs. But this one murder - of a beautiful young woman who had just married - has become the symbol of our country to the outside world. This is evidenced by the British media's coverage of the murder. The Daily Mail report on the tragic death of the British bride ended by concluding: "South Africa has one of the worst crime rates in the world." Similar observations have appeared in other publications with The Telegraph reporting that 46 murders are committed each day in South Africa, "a statistic that led to a substantial rise in security during the World Cup". South Africa is indeed a violent country and far too many South Africans are intimately acquainted with this knowledge. And this murder resurrects the doubts and prejudice that surfaced before the World Cup earlier this year. It also reinforces the idea that the safety foreign visitors enjoyed during the tournament in June was a mirage. This murder then shows how life has returned to normal after the soccer fans departed. Anni Dewani's body will be returned to her home and her widower will leave too. Life, as they say, will go on. But it is a life that has become frighteningly abnormal because of our acceptance of barbaric acts of cruelty and violence as a normal feature of South Africa. *Gugulethu made headlines in 1993 when an American exchange student, Amy Biehl, was stabbed and stoned to death. On August 25, 1993, she was driving black friends home to Guguletu township when the car was attacked by a group of youths chanting "one settler, one bullet" -- urging death to all white citizens. The youths stoned the car and struck Ms. Biehl on the head. She fled, bleeding, but the youths cornered her and stabbed and stoned her to death. She was 26 years old.

Why are SA cops “shocked” at murder and hijacking of British tourist?

Over 700 people have been murdered in Gugulethu since 2005 Mzoli's - Gugulethu township in Cape Town an outdoor barbecue restaurant an...

3:27 PM

SA – Big Question Time

By Iain Robertson South Africa is at a tipping point. We have a Government that seems to have lost the plot. It is fighting paper tigers in the media while we head towards an economic Armageddon with increasing rapidity. The rapacious plundering of the economy by the not-so-good in Government, their relatives and friends looks more and more like rats deserting the sinking ship. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538403977150930290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_F56Lvm1MSgYMWXq9-RcE6Tm9jF1XKjpkXRWN8t2nr6leXwP2JUnmK7_gyyqwoMPAVZAaS1OLc4SFTS3m4fMx5YzAIBcuFe2ovHzsQs_WlPZ_yfTCw1eRXvaPoXdZqwuVCg8zDYYUivB/s400/anc-fail.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 122px; CURSOR: hand" />But the real story is even worse. We do not have the skills to turn our economy around, we do not have an education system that can provide us with the skilled people in sufficient time, and even if we did, we do not have the warm bodies of a suitable age to receive that education. Point 1 – a people crisis: <ul><li>A population of 52 Million or so, plus an estimated 10 Million legal and illegal immigrants. </li><li>The official unemployment rate is given as around 25%. Unisa calculate 45%, and the advertising industry use a figure closer to 65%. </li><li>About 20 Million people are dependent on welfare grants </li><li>5.7 Million people are HIV positive, dying at a rate of about 1000 per day, mostly in the economically active 15-45 age group. </li><li>Average life expectancy has tumbled from 60 in 1990 to 40 today </li><li>Disengaged, functionally illiterate, innumerate and uneducable individuals in youth and middle age </li><li>By 2015, 32% of all children will be AIDS orphans </li><li>There are about 5.3Million registered taxpayers, of whom 1 Million or so are Government employees, thereby just moving tax income from one pocket to another. Of the remaining 4Million or so, about 1 Million provide 75% of the tax income. According to Mike Schussler and others, an unsustainable economy.</li></ul>Point 2 – an environment crisis <ul><li>Dysfunctional electricity reticulation and generation </li><li>An unmaintained and disintegrating physical infrastructure. Most roadway bridges have not been maintained for the last 15 years </li><li>Less than 5% of the sewage plants in the country (around 30 out of 930) operate correctly </li><li>Just over 10% of all municipalities (30 out of 280) can provide clean and safe drinking water </li><li>Water with the acidity of lemon juice will flood central Johannesburg and poison the Gauteng environment in about 18 months time, the legacy of gold mining.</li></ul>Point 3 – a governance crisis <ul><li>A wholesale loss of skills and expertise from 1994 onwards as experienced and competent civil servants were replaced with deployed ANC cadres. A simple replacement, no handover or skills transfer </li><li>The concept of “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay” has gone out of the window. </li><li>Relocation (theft) of state funds by tampering with contracts, tenders and pay-offs has become an acceptable secondary income stream </li><li>The result - large areas of society are governed by thieves and incompetents</li></ul> What is suddenly different ? While the gradual erosion of government could be hidden a facade could be maintained, but as soon as the electricity crisis hit, followed by the admission of a forthcoming sewage and water crisis, the inadequacies in governance were literally brought home to citizens. Questions were then asked about missing RDP homes, RDP homes that fell apart after a very short period, and the general appalling level of service delivery. The Emperor then had no clothes. The outcome of the realisation that governance is failing is already being seen. Self-help is now the order of the day as citizens bypass formal government structures that are unable to deliver. Communities repair roads themselves, pay for additional teaching and medical staff in their schools and hospitals. Black communities are demonstrating and physically attacking local and national government buildings. Voices are arising in all communities that they are paying at least twice for everything, once as tax, and a second time to provide paid-for services that are not delivered. At some point very soon, they will stop paying the first time and let the Revenue know in no uncertain terms. We are now beginning to see Government react. It is trying to close down avenues of information, by preventing the media reporting on it, by attempting to close off areas of the Internet, and by adopting the philosophy that everything is secret unless deemed otherwise. Local Government is becoming increasingly dysfunctional and irrelevant. Where do we go from here ? Towards an increasingly autocratic society as we slip into the “African” model of a polarised economy of an ultra rich minority and a subsistence level majority. Unless something changes that is what will happen. It all depends on how we manage our Human Capital as individuals and as small businesses. Without adequate intellectual and human capital in ourselves, our businesses and our customers, we will not be able to regenerate our society. The next year is critical.

SA – Big Question Time

By Iain Robertson South Africa is at a tipping point. We have a Government that seems to have lost the plot. It is fighting paper tigers in ...

12:39 PM

Tourists mugged on top of Table Mountain

Three South African expatriates and a Canadian were robbed at knifepoint at the top of Table Mountain. The Lewis family, originally of South Africa, moved to Canada in 1998 to avoid becoming victims of crime. However, their fears became a reality when they were attacked on top of the mountain during their brief return to South Africa for a family visit. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLcDwGYmUFxhUxrpXQLjGnQ60NRjpIAOpAsFP6wnGBLS3q1MHkz23hwLwyhMxbNXFAn7IqzOAxlwi8h4YokeO7da1BATQ7HI31ZfvLl2SDJWiJ0GY81Gpxmn-KgmlfgbUZn57ZSKArjDX/s1600/crime-T+Mountain.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536156741402873682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLcDwGYmUFxhUxrpXQLjGnQ60NRjpIAOpAsFP6wnGBLS3q1MHkz23hwLwyhMxbNXFAn7IqzOAxlwi8h4YokeO7da1BATQ7HI31ZfvLl2SDJWiJ0GY81Gpxmn-KgmlfgbUZn57ZSKArjDX/s400/crime-T+Mountain.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>(pic right) Richard Lewis, his daughter Bronwyn and her boyfriend Harrison Boyse recall how two men attacked them at knifepoint at the top of Table Mountain. “I know this could happen to anyone but what gets to me is that it was on a national heritage site, supposed to be one of the safest places in the country. It was brazen and during the day. It was on a walking trail with no warning and no security to prevent something like this. It is very disappointing,” Richard Lewis, the father of the family, told the Cape Argus. Lewis, his wife, Barbara, son Gareth, 24, daughter Bronwyn, 23, and her Canadian boyfriend, Harrison Boyse, 22, decided to take the cable car up Table Mountain early on Tuesday morning. At about 9am, Barbara decided to rest at a shop on top of the mountain while the rest of the group made their way towards Maclear’s Beacon, where two armed men attacked them. “They both carried switchblade knives which they kept waving around saying: ‘Do you want to die here?’, and ‘Don’t make us stab you’. We decided to just give them what they wanted instead of risking our lives,” Lewis said. The group handed over their backpacks, wallets, cellphones, watches and camera. Still not satisfied, the robbers searched their pockets and demanded their passports. Boyse said the thieves became agitated but were willing to return passports and a memory card if someone took it from the camera. "They were getting really edgy and as soon as we got the memory card we began running back to the cable car.” When the group looked back, the robbers were moving up the mountain and going through the backpacks. The family managed to alert police, park rangers began to search the area immediately and a helicopter scanned the area, but found no signs of the robbers. Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz described the incident as “absolutely absurd”, adding that the option of increasing security should be seriously considered. “We can’t have tourists coming and being mugged at a national heritage site.” Table Mountain National Park spokeswoman Merle Collins said that they were aware of, and disturbed by, the incident. This is an edited version of the article from the Cape Argus/IOL <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/">www.iol.co.za/</a> - 29 September 2010

Tourists mugged on top of Table Mountain

Three South African expatriates and a Canadian were robbed at knifepoint at the top of Table Mountain. The Lewis family, originally of South...

12:42 PM

JMPD cops probed for bribery, assault, and, and, and ...

TWENTY percent of the Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) are corrupt, with cops soliciting bribes of R1 000, and others stealing R1 million. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEJWe3J9UDP1N2iWbT0iSPZ-fxxw4oqIGZQsoypOPOy_plRHoY02WAibA4q3VqZ_Bieas5gj0W68EaryegoZKk8pUm7rCmmqa3q5o1uz0TZszcLQjiz5FW8JxP7mPJ1T6wT_9FGoNB57K/s1600/cops-jmpd.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535857825488683458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEJWe3J9UDP1N2iWbT0iSPZ-fxxw4oqIGZQsoypOPOy_plRHoY02WAibA4q3VqZ_Bieas5gj0W68EaryegoZKk8pUm7rCmmqa3q5o1uz0TZszcLQjiz5FW8JxP7mPJ1T6wT_9FGoNB57K/s400/cops-jmpd.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 197px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>A REPORT before the City of Joburg shows that between April and June, 116 officers were investigated and though several cases have been concluded, not one officer has been dismissed or suspended. The charges include: officers insulting motorists; pointing a firearm at a motorist; and unnecessarily issuing fines; victimising, harassing and stalking motorists; and punishing motorists for not paying bribes. JMPD chief Chris Ngcobo has admitted the rampant problem in the ranks, and vowed that officers caught will be dismissed. Despite this, a report before the City of Joburg shows that charges brought against 116 JMPD members four months ago have not resulted in one dismissal or suspension. A report seen by The Star reveals that from April to June this year, 116 JMPD officers were probed by its internal affairs unit. Among the most serious complaints are allegations of bribery by on-duty metro police officers, soliciting kickbacks of between R200 and R4 000 from motorists. Other transgressions range from corruption to theft, fraud, negligence, assault and unbecoming behaviour, being drunk on duty, going Awol on a shift, negligence and causing damage to council vehicles....and, and, and In a status report, presented to it by the JMPD’s internal affairs director Abel Nkosi on October 6, the document states that of the 116 cases, 60 have been finalised, 31 were still under investigation, 16 were being prosecuted and six were unsubstantiated. A further three cases were registered under “duplication”, “undetected” and “referred to other municipalities”. There are 86 allegations of “unbecoming behaviour” against officers, making up the majority of the cases. 476 Metro Cops probed for bribery, assault MORE than 10 percent, or 476, of the Joburg metro police department’s (JMPD) staff complement have been investigated internally in the past year for allegations ranging from theft to bribery, assault and misconduct. But, of the 476 metro police officers probed by the service’s internal affairs unit, less than 4 percent – or a mere 19 officers – were dismissed. The disclosure by the City of Joburg policing service’s management follows exposés into what seems to amount to criminal conduct and abuses by JMPD officers. The cases were reported in the JMPD’s latest annual report. There are currently 4 326 JMPD staffers employed in the city. Of the 476 cases investigated, the majority of the allegations against the officers were of “unbecoming behaviour” (373 cases) and 20 cases of corruption and assault. The figures indicate that 205 of the cases had been resolved without the need for a disciplinary hearing. About 30 percent, or 149, of the cases initially laid with the JMPD were unsubstantiated when investigated further, and at least 10 cases were withdrawn. Of 43 officers who had gone through disciplinary procedures, 19 had been dismissed, charges against 12 had been withdrawn and four officers had been found not guilty. The remaining eight officers had received written warnings or an unpaid suspension ranging from two to 10 days. The offences covered in the annual report range from fraud to bribery, theft, assault, unbecoming conduct, going Awol, insubordination and damage to council property. The annual report covers the period from July last year to June this year. Ngcobo’s acknowledgement came just weeks after his internal affairs director, Abel Nkosi, reported to the council that at least 116 officers had been investigated internally between April and June this year. In the past year, the police’s internal complaints directorate had investigated nine cases of bribery, corruption, fraud, theft, assault and misconduct against the officers. About a month ago, members of the internal affairs division had handed a motorist a R4 000 bribe to drop corruption charges against a senior metro police officer. The motorist had gone to the JMPD’s Loveday Street offices in the Joburg CBD to complain formally about being forced to pay a R700 bribe to an officer at a roadblock – a conversation which he had recorded. The officers had then tried to make the case go away. In the latest case on October 10, Soweto resident Sibusiso Ntimba was allegedly beaten up and burnt on a hot engine by metro police officers because he had failed to produce his driving licence. Then, on July 28, a carpenter from Linden was allegedly assaulted and arrested by a group of metro officers after he had asked them why they were destroying a rock feature in his neighbourhood.

JMPD cops probed for bribery, assault, and, and, and ...

TWENTY percent of the Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) are corrupt, with cops soliciting bribes of R1 000, and others stealing R1 milli...

2:05 AM

Rising above crime

Inspired by the birds, one man built a thief-proof house without alarms, electric fencing, or security beams in crime-ridden South Africa. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533665835560884002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCI4d8DzP_hDqDTF2rYGrMyPuQFeXIeZ5Uf_fd3yC2sNGN0IdaCqnElyUKWxhVpL-yB2CxtyBfnoS9n018H5RFBJBJJmCiCkg9-IwNWVHSDu_SW4NH43Zf-8ULrr_ZC7LWVFsAnVLFvvHU/s400/HOUSE-CAPE-TOWN-ARCHITECTURE-CRIME_full_600.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" /><div align="center">Eileen Mijlof stands by her burglar-proof home in Cape Town. Her husband came up with the idea for the design after watching squirrels and birds sitting in trees. </div>

Rising above crime

Inspired by the birds, one man built a thief-proof house without alarms, electric fencing, or security beams in crime-ridden South Africa. E...

12:45 PM

Tourist tells of rape ordeal in Cape Winelands hotel

Dutch woman on antiretrovirals after horrifying ordeal in four-star hotel A Dutch tourist has vowed never to set foot in South Africa again - unless it is to give evidence against the man who gagged, robbed and raped her twice in the Cape Winelands. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8bP_E4eq59ajVT1ECmj-4cJslBFkO3Aw16f7juvoqpjZn1wVW72eNYL12bUiX8BBunVpPw12PR_rZ_0ckNFRRPN-mNZSSCy49QZnWq3JElE6JrAvT6WSA5efUzNG3EKl5CdDfYDToa_o/s1600/dutch_tourist_rape_ordeal.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464109427343896738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8bP_E4eq59ajVT1ECmj-4cJslBFkO3Aw16f7juvoqpjZn1wVW72eNYL12bUiX8BBunVpPw12PR_rZ_0ckNFRRPN-mNZSSCy49QZnWq3JElE6JrAvT6WSA5efUzNG3EKl5CdDfYDToa_o/s400/dutch_tourist_rape_ordeal.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Yvonne Petronella Den Hollander, 62, is suing the four-star Lord Charles Hotel for failing to keep her safe and is claiming R1.7-million in damages for the terrifying ordeal she endured. Den Hollander, a divorced mother of two, was brutalised within hours of checking into the luxury hotel. She was put on antiretrovirals after the attack, and underwent psychological counselling for trauma. Two years after she was raped and robbed of R3600 at the hotel on March 9 2008: <blockquote>•Police have yet to arrest a suspect in the case;•The hotel says it is not liable to pay damages because guests signed a disclaimer protecting it against claims for loss, damage or injury; and •Den Hollander is being asked to put up R200000 as security for court costs before her lawsuit can proceed against the hotel, because she is a foreigner.</blockquote>In court papers, she accused the hotel of negligence and failure to put in place measures that could have prevented her ordeal. Speaking to the Sunday Times this week through her lawyer, Luuk Rijnen, she said she would never again set foot in Africa, except to face her attacker in court. The trip to South Africa was a dream come true after she had saved up to pay for an affordable 17-day holiday package which included a trek in the Drakensberg mountains, a visit to Swaziland, a trip to the Kruger National Park and KwaZulu-Natal. It was shortly after arriving at the Lord Charles Hotel, ahead of a tour of the Cape Winelands, that the trip turned into a nightmare. In the statement to the police after the incident, she said she was convinced she would be killed by the rapist. "He made me lie on the bed with my face down. He took the telephone wire. With this he tied my ankles. I was lying on my belly with my hands and feet tightly tied to my back. "I remember that he made this quite tight. After this he put blankets and pillows over me, so I was afraid now he would shoot me because of all this noise-insulating material." Her assailant had been hiding behind the bathroom door when Den Hollander returned to her room after a few drinks with her tour group. The hotel, however, is defending the claim and in turn said Den Hollander was negligent with her own safety by not properly locking her room door despite written warnings. The hotel said it had taken "reasonable steps to guard against harm to guests by among other things, engaging the services of an independent contractor". Group chief executive officer for Command Security Services, Shaffie Mowzer, said on Friday that what had happened was both unfortunate and tragic but the company could not comment. The hotel further stated in court papers that Den Hollander had, upon arrival at the hotel, signed a disclaimer absolving it of any liability. It read: "The Lord Charles accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury that may occur on our premises." The hotel has applied to the court to compel her to pay R200000 in security for costs. But Den Hollander has vowed to fight on and says she refuses to be bullied. Den Hollander told the Sunday Times via e-mail: "Did they change anything? Or do they just try to push me away so no one finds out how unsafe it is?"

Tourist tells of rape ordeal in Cape Winelands hotel

Dutch woman on antiretrovirals after horrifying ordeal in four-star hotel A Dutch tourist has vowed never to set foot in South Africa again ...

9:03 AM

Deathly silence while SA fat cats lick the cream

By Jane Steinacker Every day the media publishes reports on tender corruption and fraud. Yet government is still sitting on its expensive leather seats. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz22BLOH7Zwl667aBPUbg3Sxor5aaB6qzCGsTDCNGyLk0jmxML_MYntHedrFSl1Ta6N3PK3QWsafwW7gJi1pBKBy7CD6CahHaGrvLnLJIUAU3pHWaJUW6P7FSY78sXDvMwtb-tpeIcrxm/s1600/corrupt-parl.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453812918274576546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz22BLOH7Zwl667aBPUbg3Sxor5aaB6qzCGsTDCNGyLk0jmxML_MYntHedrFSl1Ta6N3PK3QWsafwW7gJi1pBKBy7CD6CahHaGrvLnLJIUAU3pHWaJUW6P7FSY78sXDvMwtb-tpeIcrxm/s400/corrupt-parl.bmp" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 311px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Government tenders for the most part are meant to provide services to communities who need them: healthcare for children, books for schools and infrastructure that will help our country succeed. Every time a tenderpreneur knocks back a glass of expensive whisky, a child dies because the money that is meant to go to healthcare is paying for his black luxury car. Shacks are burning and people are freezing to death as the money for their housing is, instead, paying for fake Tuscan villas in expensive areas. Parents aren't able to clothe and educate their children as corrupt officials spend money on bespoke outfits with tasteless hats. Just last Sunday it was reported that the list under the Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, monitored by the National Treasury, which is meant to blacklist corrupt tenderpreneurs, is still blank. But we know for a fact that there are thousands of examples which show that millions of rands are being stolen. Why are these companies not on the list? Why are these companies still being awarded tenders? And why are the corrupt government officials still going to work every day? According to a published report, treasury spokesman Lindani Mbunyanza says that it's up to the courts to issue an order for the convicted to be placed on the register. "To date, no such order has been issued by any court," says Mbunyanza. This means that contractors and government officials are still skimming the cream off deals and an effective manner in which to deal with this is not in sight. I would like to know why not. And while this legislation is not being abided with, government has decided to try a new tack by setting up task teams to fight corruption. But my pessimistic self has no faith in new measures - nobody has bothered to try implementing the old ones. There is a part of me that believes that these task teams are simply a deflection strategy to keep South Africans happy under the illusion that our elected leaders are, in fact, doing something. My inner-voice says it's because corruption and a sense of entitlement at the expense of others comes from the top of our food chain. A fish rots from the head. It is distressing that every week there is at least one new report of tender corruption. I am tired of hearing about task teams checking procurement policies to tighten loopholes, or sub-committees reviewing reports. What I'd like to hear is the cuffing of the criminals as they are brought to justice and the slamming of doors as their unlawful businesses are shut to make way for the reputable and honest contractors I believe are out there. Businesses that will truly benefit from transformation and who will do their bit to improve the lives of South Africans do exist. What I want is less talk and more action. I hope that my pessimism in our leadership turns to optimism and that corrupt officials and companies are dealt with. Our government needs to stop with the myriad of task teams and start producing results. There are lives at stake here.

Deathly silence while SA fat cats lick the cream

By Jane Steinacker Every day the media publishes reports on tender corruption and fraud. Yet government is still sitting on its expensive le...

3:49 PM

Malema got four deals in one month

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's company, SGL Engineering Projects, was handed at least four multimillion-rand contracts in just one month in his home town of Polokwane, Limpopo. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFLVwUZBimuQgUYcZYJhZDEA4j-pyCoRVa2iEPXgDMSFcYAw46OO4HcQS_g88m3ViL2nCaqLA3jJdVQbM9XHFr0bSyJDs_G5E3IbT5pEoQb3BTjMdSKYpnzMiegayqF5hwPjUqzIFc4Qs/s1600-h/malemaclown.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445878533337658322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFLVwUZBimuQgUYcZYJhZDEA4j-pyCoRVa2iEPXgDMSFcYAw46OO4HcQS_g88m3ViL2nCaqLA3jJdVQbM9XHFr0bSyJDs_G5E3IbT5pEoQb3BTjMdSKYpnzMiegayqF5hwPjUqzIFc4Qs/s320/malemaclown.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>City Press can exclusively disclose how SGL was awarded tenders worth more than R6m last year by the Polokwane municipality. Malema, who owns a R1m home in the city, grew up in nearby Seshego. A document from the municipality's tender database, a copy of which is in possession of City Press, shows how SGL was awarded the contracts in October. The document was compiled as a response to parliamentary questions last year by the Congress of the People about contracts awarded to companies by the province's 31 municipalities. The answers from Polokwane were, however, inexplicably omitted from the official response presented to the legislature by the provincial local government and housing department. A senior municipal official said this was because the answers highlighted the extent to which Malema's company dominated tenders in the province. While the document provided the value of other contracts awarded by the municipality, there were no amounts reflected in the column where SGL was listed as being a contractor. According to the document, the contracts included vital development work including: <ul><li>Consulting engineering on roads and sanitation projects; </li><li>Water and sewer reticulation; </li><li>Dam safety and pump stations; </li><li>Sewer purification and project management; and </li><li>Rural sanitation in the form of ventilated improved pit latrines. </li></ul>The document was also silent on the exact location and period when the contracts started and their expected completion time. The company scored 21 additional contracts from eight other municipalities to the value of R140m between 2007 and 2009. Polokwane municipality spokesperson Simon Mokoatedi claimed that SGL received only two tenders worth R3.2m. When we put it to him that sources said SGL had also been awarded another contract worth more than R3m, Mokoatedi replied: "There are processes to award the tender, but we cannot say much because the council still has to ratify the decision." According to Mokoatedi, two of the contracts were worth R3 million while the third, where an appointment letter still had to be given to the successful bidder, was worth an additional R3m. Several other municipalities which awarded contracts to SGL yesterday defended their decisions, insisting that the company was appointed through normal tender processes and submitted all relevant documentation. From Mopani Municipality, SGL received R66.4m in contracts. Municipal manager Timothy Maake said "no exception" (on documentation) was made. Tzaneen municipal manager Mabakane Mangena said: "SGL went through normal processes that required documentation. There is no way we can award a company a tender without tax clearance." SGL was awarded R28m in tenders. The Greater Letaba municipality also handed Malema tenders worth R28m. "Yes, they submitted a tax clearance certificate," said Mayor Godfrey Modjadji. "As you know, that is a basic requirement and you cannot process any contract without that information for tax reasons." - City PressSee also - <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article354032.ece">Investigate Limpopo tender irregularities</a> ANCYL leaders, their girlfriends and relatives are exploiting all opportunities and becoming fly-by-night millionaires

Malema got four deals in one month

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema's company, SGL Engineering Projects, was handed at least four multimillion-rand contracts in ju...

4:43 AM

Armed gang of 'fake cops' torture farmer, family

Pretoria – Heavily-armed men in police uniforms tied up a Mokopane (Potgietersrus) farmer and his family and repeatedly shocked them with stun guns on a farm this week. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFH999y7qb-SwZoOSoaixKpKycX47M0USL3za1vu0_XNrF041K5mnSp7faT-WBmlCUJtuOS1YyybBp2A224NCy0JFL5e_XkFsshkAeDdRRRdZSW5haOqHyldGzC2xxpxJantpJhINohPr/s1600-h/ANC+VICTIMS.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432203634008494898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFH999y7qb-SwZoOSoaixKpKycX47M0USL3za1vu0_XNrF041K5mnSp7faT-WBmlCUJtuOS1YyybBp2A224NCy0JFL5e_XkFsshkAeDdRRRdZSW5haOqHyldGzC2xxpxJantpJhINohPr/s400/ANC+VICTIMS.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 296px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>The eight attackers also pulled plastic bags over the heads of Okkie Malherbe, 63, and his wife Emmerentia, 53, from the Olem agricultural concern on the farm Doelen. Malherbe's granddaughter, Kaycee, 5, was hysterical during the attack. Malherbe's son, WD, 34, said the attack lasted about two hours, "but it felt like forever. There was murder in their faces." WD said he had come for supper on Tuesday evening at his father and stepmother's. Shortly after 19:00, an Isuzu bakkie and a Toyota Corolla with a blue light on the roof, had stopped in front of the farmhouse. Three of the eight men were wearing police uniforms. The rest were "neatly clothed, like detectives". "We thought it was the police and then I opened the door. They pointed semi-automatic machine guns at me." WD said the attackers told them they were police officers from Gauteng and were investigating illegal firearms. His father asked to see identification and the men quickly waved about "a piece of paper and cards". "We could see these weren't police IDs and said we were going to call the police. They then pulled on their Balaclavas." They asked for money and keys to the safe. The attackers tied up WD, his father and stepmother and also tied the hands of his sister, Zia, and her daughter Kaycee. "They told me to lie on my face on the sofa. We weren't allowed to speak and every now and then felt a firearm against the head." WD said the attackers shocked them, but not Kaycee, several times with stun guns. The men took his father to a nearby building from where the family ran the Limpopo Meat Packers business. He gave them the keys to the safe. They took his shoes and pulled a plastic bag over his head. They took R120 000. The attackers forced him back to the house and took him and his wife to their bedroom. A plastic bag was also pulled over his wife's head. "They were choked. I felt like I was going crazy when I heard that but I couldn't do anything," said their son." Employees of the Malherbes who stayed in a flat near the main house, suspected something was wrong and activated an alarm. "They fled when the alarm went off. They took my bakkie, but later left it on a farm road. My father and stepmother's cellphones were also stolen. We feel vulnerable, what should you do if people with police uniforms and a blue light stop near you? How should you know who you can trust?" Provincial police spokesperson superintendent Ronel Otto said a special task team had been appointed to look for the attackers. - Beeld

Armed gang of 'fake cops' torture farmer, family

Pretoria – Heavily-armed men in police uniforms tied up a Mokopane (Potgietersrus) farmer and his family and repeatedly shocked them with st...

7:46 AM

Tourist tied up and robbed

A German tourist was robbed in a Camps Bay, Cape Town guest house on Tuesday morning, Western Cape police said. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraRAwFxHACGKwNTJpz0psO1CPdfQvhbvR5prvKr51BOiiYWEicu31B-HS1creJPaaNN8dZpQrQaVB9mdVhYYQ8eHQ3SC2sChfocglSpgAOhBLJDw-FUkGsOJZpLZLixEMY3kyKke5u78x/s1600-h/south-africa-exodus.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEKMgHIkaWFqfDgr3k5PsMCFlp-ra5dosn1-8KLEbLNEoONYLW4D2256u4h_6KciuzCt3RSqDqfll-jwVbg7GGyd_QAayr14PTcw_Zz9jhtSbCzCaqt22LyKT1_vh2FzjPcwvYNowresH/s1600-h/crime-dangerous-sa"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431949844294696370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEKMgHIkaWFqfDgr3k5PsMCFlp-ra5dosn1-8KLEbLNEoONYLW4D2256u4h_6KciuzCt3RSqDqfll-jwVbg7GGyd_QAayr14PTcw_Zz9jhtSbCzCaqt22LyKT1_vh2FzjPcwvYNowresH/s400/crime-dangerous-sa" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 278px" /></a>"The complainant alleged that he woke up and found two unknown men in his bedroom. The one suspect was armed with a firearm and the other with two knives," Captain Frederick van Wyk said in a statement. The 32-year-old man's hands were tied and 100 euros and R3000 in cash stolen, along with a laptop computer, video camera, digital camera and two cellular phones. "It appears that the suspects gained access to the house through a kitchen window." His three companions slept through the robbery.

Tourist tied up and robbed

A German tourist was robbed in a Camps Bay, Cape Town guest house on Tuesday morning, Western Cape police said. "The complainant allege...

7:50 AM

White business owner hijacked, left for dead

A 52-year-old Polokwane business owner was severely beaten and left for dead in a hijacking, his friends said on Wednesday. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd41e1VO6cGEQYkxDpBU11aE3amzfONqm-9gEAMFBh-Em2-oEBaGKmqs6GZZYGjGEBszF7s4JRx-y13J2l1gtCIm1HSLLioe_rpaxa6lXiQS9KTH9FG7mlajOmhTQhhe8gqfRqa-B9W-4T/s1600-h/crime-hijacking.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431513022199040690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd41e1VO6cGEQYkxDpBU11aE3amzfONqm-9gEAMFBh-Em2-oEBaGKmqs6GZZYGjGEBszF7s4JRx-y13J2l1gtCIm1HSLLioe_rpaxa6lXiQS9KTH9FG7mlajOmhTQhhe8gqfRqa-B9W-4T/s400/crime-hijacking.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px" /></a>Thys Diedericks, the owner of Limpopo Tractors, was accosted by four men, one armed with a pistol, the others with pangas, in the parking lot of the Savannah shopping mall around 7.15pm on Tuesday, his friend and colleague Stefan Myburgh said. They threw him into the back of his Isuzu double-cab bakkie and drove in the direction of Mankweng, stopping along the way to drag him into the bush. They beat him until he was unconscious and fled with his vehicle, three cellphones, bank cards and some cash. One of the suspects drew R3 000 from his bank account using an ATM in Mankweng on Wednesday morning, Myburgh said. Early on Wednesday morning, Diedericks became conscious thanks to heavy rain. He crawled to the road where a passing minibus taxi stopped to pick him up. The driver took him to Mankweng Provincial Hospital, where he was found by his family, who had been searching for him. He was transferred to Limpopo Medi-Clinic. He has a cracked skull and multiple cuts and fractures. His eyes are swollen shut and half his ear has been torn off. A Polokwane police spokesman, Inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba, said no criminal case had yet been reported to them. Myburgh, however, said that Diedericks had been reported missing and that a case had been opened early on Wednesday. Subsequently, cases of hijacking, assault and robbery had been opened. He said no arrests had been made and Diedericks's vehicle, registration number BPY 056 L, was still missing. - Sapa

White business owner hijacked, left for dead

A 52-year-old Polokwane business owner was severely beaten and left for dead in a hijacking, his friends said on Wednesday. Thys Diedericks,...

12:26 PM

Free State farmer murdered

A 59-year-old Free State farmer has been attacked and killed by three men on his farm in Ficksburg on Saturday, police said. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dqzT9VLsDT4v286teZZyro3sXcGoeQTB2uF42tdlQhdMPmAZuuJdEPdukBSfJI9u857BGtAE_Ll0OMN5sBSJTkZJ9khKdE1dxu9PwkStGQqfxzkRn1sntVMWEVNgA2dkWO17qHQqx-GL/s1600-h/crime=cell.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429995787513161698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dqzT9VLsDT4v286teZZyro3sXcGoeQTB2uF42tdlQhdMPmAZuuJdEPdukBSfJI9u857BGtAE_Ll0OMN5sBSJTkZJ9khKdE1dxu9PwkStGQqfxzkRn1sntVMWEVNgA2dkWO17qHQqx-GL/s400/crime=cell.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a>Sergeant Majang Mosupa said the incident occurred at around 5am at the Goodhope farm. She said the farmer's wife Dorothy Gieseke was alone in the house when she was surprised by three men armed with a firearm and screwdriver. "They threatened her and demanded money and firearms from her and when they could not get any they took her handbag and cellphone." Mosupa said the woman managed to press the panic button inside the house and the three suspects ran away without hurting her. Police said when the woman went outside to look for her husband she found him dead. He earlier went outside to feed animals and water some plants. Mosupa said a blood covered stone was found at the scene with which the attackers apparently hit Ernest Gieseke, 69, on the head. "His throat was also cut with a sharp object." Mosupa said a search for the attackers started immediately and three men, between the age of 16 and 30, were found not far from the farm. Police are still looking for more suspects in the case.

Free State farmer murdered

A 59-year-old Free State farmer has been attacked and killed by three men on his farm in Ficksburg on Saturday, police said. Sergeant Majang...

9:33 AM

Lawyer critical after stabbing

A 58-year-old lawyer is in a critical condition in hospital after he was stabbed several times by robbers at his home in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ULa2S46FsRthbImKvmr_1eCLL-7iuj0x17FcBwrE2fxssvESZ4QrgpJLWNCXlqv6p1QGMwMrv9X5g9Ao24N27DMGTuahXKzhE4Tf06Qcc-zW2Woah9DFz1NDqAr9GukCllwLg9H5HceU/s1600-h/crime-scene.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427013333250847858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ULa2S46FsRthbImKvmr_1eCLL-7iuj0x17FcBwrE2fxssvESZ4QrgpJLWNCXlqv6p1QGMwMrv9X5g9Ao24N27DMGTuahXKzhE4Tf06Qcc-zW2Woah9DFz1NDqAr9GukCllwLg9H5HceU/s400/crime-scene.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" /></a>"A group of about five men broke down the door on Thursday night and went into the man's 14-year-old daughter's bedroom, taking a cellphone before moving on into his bedroom. There they demanded money, guns and cellphones," said Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela. They stabbed him several times with a knife and ran away with three cellphones and money. Fatyela said police still needed to confirm what else was stolen. The man was taken to the Nelson Mandela Academic hospital for treatment where he remained critical. "One of the suspects was arrested later on Thursday. He would appear at the Mthatha Magistrate's Court on Monday," said Fatyela. More arrests were imminent. Fatyela said police believe this was the same group of robbers which had been involved in numerous house robberies in Mthatha. "They break down even the strongest burglar doors like the Trellidoor and sometimes even enter people's homes through the roof," he said. On Wednesday, armed robbers removed roof tiles from a house in Southernwood to gain access and stole a radio. They were chased by police but they dropped the radio and escaped. Another house was broken into the same day by robbers who fled with four cellphones, a laptop and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Lawyer critical after stabbing

A 58-year-old lawyer is in a critical condition in hospital after he was stabbed several times by robbers at his home in Mthatha, Eastern Ca...

8:56 AM

UK issues SA crime list to soccer fans

2010 Soccer World Cup In South Africa Recipe For Disaster. Tourists, soccer fans, beware, your life is in danger - there is no safe place in SA. <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LapFW3vr7HE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LapFW3vr7HE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> "The soccer fans that will crowd the stadiums are walking into a conflict zone. They will come to SA in a £25 million jet, and go home in a £25 box." <a href="http://mysasucks.com/">My South Africa Sucks</a> - <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/10/sas-shocking-murder-statistics-since.html">SA’s shocking murder stats since 2004 – a terrifying table</a> South Africa is a hellhole of crime, do not visit while it remains the criminal infested hellhole it currently is. You have been warned. <a class="ArticleTitle" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=180&art_id=vn20100102083047209C605351" id="article-title" target="_blank">UK issues SA crime list to soccer fans</a> From avoiding widespread ATM fraud to "prudently driving around stones in the middle of the road" put there by gun-toting hijackers. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/11/highway-robbers-leave-trail-of-terror.html">Highway robbers leave trail of terror</a> - <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/10/motorist-pulls-over-shot-in-ambush-by.html">Motorist shot by hijackers in ambush</a> These travel tips are part of the comprehensive guide from the British Foreign Office (FO) made available for UK soccer fans, who will be visiting South Africa for the World Cup. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/11/uk-fans-warned-about-hijacking.html">UK fans warned about hijacking</a> Official advice from the FO warns visiting supporters on a variety of dangers, including armed muggings, card cloning and fake soccer tickets to a prevalent HIV/Aids pandemic, cholera flare-ups, and inflated accommodation prices. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/aids-girls-on-world-cup-game.html">AIDS girls on World Cup game</a> And the alert button should be on from the moment fans land at OR Tambo International Airport, the guide tells UK fans. "During 2007 and 2008 there were a number of incidents involving foreigners being followed from OR Tambo International Airport in Joburg, to their destinations by car and then robbed, often at gunpoint," the official advice states. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/airport-gangs-target-arrivals.html">OR Tambo International Airport gangs 'target' arrivals</a> "We recommend you exercise particular caution in and around the airport and extra vigilance when driving away. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/british-rugby-fans-robbed-at-gunpoint.html">British rugby fans robbed at gunpoint in South Africa</a> "As elsewhere, thieves like to operate at international airports, bus and railway stations. Keep your baggage with you at all times." <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/05/bag-theft-at-or-tambo-airport-again.html">Bag theft at OR Tambo Airport </a> Travel tips describe passport theft as "common", with 871 passports reported stolen between April 2008 and March 2009. "It is usually opportunist and non-violent, although some passports are taken during muggings." <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/confed-team-fans-robbed.html">Confed team, fans robbed</a> Other advice includes staying completely clear of areas such as Berea and Hillbrow in Gauteng, hijacking possibilities on the roads to Kruger National Park and possible attacks on hikers around Table Mountain. <a class="l" href="http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2376594" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'news_result','','res','6','&sig2=-Pksy6OaPhtS8-OyOEI7uA','0CCoQqQIwBQ')">Toronto couple stabbed while hiking in S. Africa</a>‎ ; <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/12/canadian-tourists-stoned-stabbed-and.html">Canadian tourists stoned, stabbed and robbed while hiking in Cape Nature Reserve</a> The FO advice also states, "Be vigilant at all times in Durban's city centre and beachfront area. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/british-tourists-mugged-and-robbed-in.html">Tourists mugged and robbed in Durban after Test</a> "In all areas of South Africa, you should be cautious when out after dark. "Streets, even in urban areas, are not brightly lit at night. "If you are mugged or your car is hijacked, you should remain calm, offer no resistance and hand over possessions without question. Avoid eye contact." And some of the travel tips in true, understated British style, comment on the hazards of driving on South African roads, where it is advised "the standard of driving in South Africa can vary greatly and there are many fatal accidents every year. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/07/south-african-roads-one-of-most.html">South African roads one of the most dangerous in the world</a>. On highways, it is well worth remembering that overtaking can occur in any lane including, occasionally, the hard shoulder." <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/11/time-bomb-in-sa.html">A time bomb in SA</a> And travel insurance is highly encouraged as "not having insurance could cost over £25 000 (R294 000) in medical bills and air evacuation, so ensure you're covered and with the high levels of crime, it is also important to insure any possessions". Yet amid this long list of potential threats to life and limb in South Africa, the Foreign Office does include a few lines of comfort to their soccer-loving supporters. "However, most cases of crime occur in the townships and in areas away from the main tourist destinations. "The South African authorities give high priority to protecting tourists and the risk to visitors travelling to the main tourist destinations is low." Related - <a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2010/01/uk-govt-lies-in-crime-warnings-to.html">UK gov’t lies in crime-warnings to WC2010 fans</a> <a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2009/12/safrica-travel-warning-from-us.html">S.Africa travel warning from US government</a> <a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/">http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/12/south-africa-safety-and-security-travel.html">South Africa safety and security travel warning</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/11/uk-fans-warned-about-hijacking.html">UK fans warned about hijacking</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/09/warning-to-2010-fans.html">SA's crime - British tourists warn 2010 soccer fans</a> <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267804">Don't travel alone in South Africa, Dutch football fans warned</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/06/armed-robbery-at-port-elizabeth-2010.html">Armed robbery at Port Elizabeth 2010 Stadium</a> <a href="http://209.85.229.132/article/show/title/louise-taylor-world-cup-in-south-africa-terrifies-me-4a537fe9d5d57/1740475">World Cup in South Africa terrifies me</a> <a class="feedlink" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080630162558200C333337">SA crime stats 2007 - 2008</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/07/24-hours-in-south-africa.html">South Africa’s shameful crime record is triggering alarm bells at FIFA</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/german-tourists-attacked-and-robbed-on.html">German tourists attacked and robbed on beach</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/02/british-tourists-attacked-and-robbed-in.html">UK couple robbed in Camps Bay Cape Town</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/foreigner-raped-in-jeffreys-bay.html">Foreign tourist raped in Jeffrey's Bay</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/tourists-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-kosi-bay.html">Tourists robbed at gunpoint in Kosi Bay</a> <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/09/visitor-from-belgium-shot-dead-in-south.html">Visitor from Belgium shot dead in South Africa</a>

UK issues SA crime list to soccer fans

2010 Soccer World Cup In South Africa Recipe For Disaster. Tourists, soccer fans, beware, your life is in danger - there is no safe place in...

9:43 AM

Robbers target international reporters

Two foreign television crews robbed in Cape Town on Friday ahead of the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsCN9VEmGTy1ihoAcoY17ix5MN-0WjTslb-aR2Sk193tWRlOwAuDoEwM133oa0BnDDBxexPENIHgS91t4AAdmUBU4aKDd-T6sA4BRLncwguScbb-NAcPFSqvREgpvMn19mCydQP8X-1Y2/s1600-h/camera-stolen.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412271790955644434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsCN9VEmGTy1ihoAcoY17ix5MN-0WjTslb-aR2Sk193tWRlOwAuDoEwM133oa0BnDDBxexPENIHgS91t4AAdmUBU4aKDd-T6sA4BRLncwguScbb-NAcPFSqvREgpvMn19mCydQP8X-1Y2/s400/camera-stolen.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a>Foreign journalists have been told to be on guard against criminals after two international television crews were robbed by thieves in Cape Town. Members of a German news crew were held up at knifepoint off Long Street, while a BBC crew had equipment worth an estimated R120 000 stolen out of their vehicle while filming on Ou Kaapse Weg. The BBC crew has been in Cape Town for four weeks filming a documentary on the power of football to change people's lives - specifically disadvantaged youth. Producer Andrew Bell said they had been doing shots of the Cape Flats from Ou Kaapse Weg when the thieves struck, smashing a window in their vehicle and stealing a lens, microphones and other camera equipment. The German crew were accosted by a gang of well-dressed men carrying knives. The two German men were forced to hand over wallets, air tickets and cellphones.

Robbers target international reporters

Two foreign television crews robbed in Cape Town on Friday ahead of the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Foreign journalists have been to...

11:48 AM

Policeman shot in Randburg

<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403658426539457458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvSKmKGdvmcI19TQA5MQ_XPgEmgOlRjajn0BNy1uoiLGU6aMWrC8xbuaM5e7MFv-4aabaE0OSh7FCHSu5vS-C29UJ9cdItE3Evf-s8ZpgpxHij58rfYcFvwZJOhYSAVqeXNJWjmcFyso/s320/Crime_Jan_Smuts_robbery_279908b.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" />A suspected robber and Johannesburg Metro Police Department officer were taken to different hospitals after being injured in a shootout in Randburg, north of Johannesburg, this morning. A Metro Police Officer was wounded, as well as two alleged criminals who attempted to hijack a taxi on Jan Smuts avenue. Photograph by: ALON SKUY The JMPD officer was shot in the abdomen and the suspect in the leg. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhlPpMYpcOx4HCUdIOqb9WVN3HJa5fmgCkRlgsz7xAtTVTKTo26Z8VSCnAeIKd-JdgxeJCgKGlRA01XjMtW8AkdYMVuwBXIV-AFQot4QWIYz1jXdROMnw5WyTgLuRP8tguQ3XVqDlFsI/s1600-h/Crime_Jan_Smuts_robber_8_279902b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403658421466000498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhlPpMYpcOx4HCUdIOqb9WVN3HJa5fmgCkRlgsz7xAtTVTKTo26Z8VSCnAeIKd-JdgxeJCgKGlRA01XjMtW8AkdYMVuwBXIV-AFQot4QWIYz1jXdROMnw5WyTgLuRP8tguQ3XVqDlFsI/s320/Crime_Jan_Smuts_robber_8_279902b.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 203px" /></a>The shootout ensued after metro police gave chase to three suspects who had robbed a Randburg catering company at around 8:15. Superintendent Noxolo Kweza said the suspects took a laptop and an undisclosed amount of cash after tying up everybody on the premises. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaERHeK2hf6NjuzkrYZZLDA5hOb1xaIr4hzoNMHGETIHMA1L34NZ_WMR7IcPVK3nTiMtcjJaUbySo0mZa_QAV0Pyg6xvIkI6sYCK3RIBEgfrY6r6BfT-iVehUGsP8d2szHAzSC33QTjE/s1600-h/crime-robber-injured.jpg"></a>"They ran off and flagged down a taxi to escape," she said. "After the victims untied themselves, they alerted a metro police officer nearby who immediately gave chase." There were no other passengers in the taxi. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbMre75Rm0G3nQ7H5IM8FBvxkPUYWyo52WLEffphRzzZZ0uERBT7fPr5FpJuYZMmww8dKbjllfQRwhzNFM9TJoENW17NwJzxBl63H5n29KM9AkA5llYsvped3Grgr6nKeqigG9b6tRPA/s1600-h/crime-robber-injured.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403657713754282562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbMre75Rm0G3nQ7H5IM8FBvxkPUYWyo52WLEffphRzzZZ0uERBT7fPr5FpJuYZMmww8dKbjllfQRwhzNFM9TJoENW17NwJzxBl63H5n29KM9AkA5llYsvped3Grgr6nKeqigG9b6tRPA/s320/crime-robber-injured.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px" /></a>Kweza said both parties opened fire on the corner of Jan Smuts and Oxford roads and SA police arrived during the shootout. The metro police officer was taken to Millpark hospital, while the suspect was taken to Charlotte Maxeke hospital. Another suspect was injured while running and is also in hospital under police guard. The third suspect escaped. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRfUmYASdwo0C_OGyBQWZtc0cYKi3TRBhfniliqPY23HW-cKTBVWPm8U9y3S_nkamyGUpbZ4TjdhbfAp_76Wqr65E0arBShM6nzv567NXmAx5fBBPAP8xq4eWbsmCPi8ZyrEujQpQN0o/s1600-h/Crime_Jan_Smuts_robbery_279908b.jpg"></a>Police recovered two firearms and the two suspects are facing arrest upon release from hospital. Kweza said a court date has not yet been set.

Policeman shot in Randburg

A suspected robber and Johannesburg Metro Police Department officer were taken to different hospitals after being injured in a shootout in R...

4:07 AM

Warning - Thieves stealing cars from dealership service depts

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWBT1vnEdbjqDKqhBdxHTCyBWjAJvNJqjU9wixgLRXT88EqnEKQvbO4nFjVmki86CDt5v1RlOU5T9YEDvsTtgPiQH7Vo3Xc_NfCOR1pwfGpz-QpSNuBwDSGqArzWVFQZBkbJ494VQH6w/s1600-h/Audi+S3+2002+Fitted.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399722775876033890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWBT1vnEdbjqDKqhBdxHTCyBWjAJvNJqjU9wixgLRXT88EqnEKQvbO4nFjVmki86CDt5v1RlOU5T9YEDvsTtgPiQH7Vo3Xc_NfCOR1pwfGpz-QpSNuBwDSGqArzWVFQZBkbJ494VQH6w/s320/Audi+S3+2002+Fitted.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a>Thieves have found an alarmingly novel way to bag themselves a car, freshly serviced and washed, some even with the keys in the ignition - they're preying on the service departments of motor dealerships. Imagine taking your car for a service and being told by the dealership later that day: "So sorry, we can't seem to find your car..." That thieves are choosing to steal used cars from the service department rather than new cars from the gleaming showroom floors on the other side of the dealership says volumes about which is considered to be the softer target. There is talk of syndicates acting with help on the inside, but in any event, in many cases the brazen crime is successfully carried out thanks to appalling negligence, with keys being allowed to be left in ignitions and none of the prescribed security safeguards, such as signed security slips, being enforced. You'd think the dealerships would be mortified at allowing their client's second most important asset to be stolen while in their care, and do everything possible to ensure they - that's the clients - don't suffer any financial loss as a result. But you'd very likely be wrong. Allowing the victim to use a loan car temporarily, and paying their insurance excess of a few thousand rands, is about as much responsibility for the lapse that most dealerships are willing to take, almost always requiring the victims to dig into their own pockets for a similar new set of wheels. Pensioner Franco Simonetti took his Audi A3 Sportback, which had done about 80 000km, to The Glen Volkswagen on September 2 for a check-up, as he was planning a trip to Kruger National Park. He'd bought the car new from the dealership in 2005. The car was stolen from the wash bay that afternoon, the keys having been left in the ignition. "What a shock!" he says. "You worry that your car may be stolen from a street or a shopping centre, but not your motor dealership." Simonetti's insurance paid out R137 500, quite a bit short of the car's book value of R150 000, and he expected the dealership to pay the difference. They refused. "Instead, they are offering me cars to the value of R137 500, all of which are vastly inferior to the car which was stolen," he told me. "They have given me a Polo as a loan car and have threatened to take it away if I go to the newspapers. Can you please help?" Asked to respond, Paul Boyce, general manager of The Glen Volkswagen, said it was not normal practice to leave the keys in the vehicle "unless we are moving the car". "Unfortunately the car was in the wash process when this incident occurred and this is being investigated by our wash bay and security companies as well as by our own investigators," he said. Boyce said Simonetti had been offered second-hand Audis and a new Polo, which the dealership offered to service up to the 45 000km service, all of which he had refused. "We understand that Mr Simonetti does not want to be in a position where he is worse off than before this incident, but we are not in a position to enrich him with a newer or more expensive vehicle through the process," he said. Simonetti is adamant that he's not seeking enrichment, just a replacement car as similar as possible to the one which was stolen, something which is apparently not possible with his insurance pay-out. Given that the dealership failed to exercise due care to safeguard his car, he feels they should pay the shortfall. The dealership refused and insisted that he return their "courtesy" car last Tuesday. Boyce states: "We are being asked the impossible by Mr Simonetti in terms of what he expects as a replacement. "Within reason and the money he has available we have offered every vehicle we have come across to him. What we have tried to do is to assist in the replacement of the stolen car. At no point have we tried to make 'a sale' or a profit. "What needs to be clear is that we are not in a position to just hand over a cheque for a perceived amount. "Our dealership staff members were not involved in this theft issue; the staff members from the security company have been dismissed. "If Mr Simonetti wants more money than the insurance pay-out he needs to take some action either through his insurance or the ombudsman from either the insurance or motor industry. "His insurance payout is the value of the car that was stolen," Boyce insisted. Strange, then, that a similar replacement can't be found at that price. "That car was supposed to be my last car, my retirement car," Simonetti says. "I looked after it like a baby; it had new tyres... but they don't seem to care." It was reported last week that the Sandton car theft unit was investigating several cases of theft of cars from motor dealerships, including that of Ralph Manhile, whose two-year-old Hilux 4x4 was stolen from Rivonia Toyota about 10 days ago. The last person to park it was reportedly a car washer employed by Africa Cleaning Services, a BEE company sub-contracted to Toyota. In April, Ryan Polayya responded to an appeal from Volkswagen South Africa to take his 2007 Polo TDi Sportline to a dealership as part of the manufacturer's turbo recall. He booked his car in at Lindsay Saker Midrand and by mid-afternoon staff admitted they had no idea where his car was and asked him to activate his tracking device. That was unsuccessful and Polayya was loaned a dilapidated car for the Easter weekend. The dealer principle at the time, who has since left, said he was prepared to pay Polayya's insurance excess of R2 000, and that was it. He told me a security company was investigating how the car came to be stolen, without a signed security slip, but neither Polayya nor myself were ever told the outcome of that investigation, despite frequent requests. Two months later Polayya was paid out by his insurance company, which was just enough to settle his outstanding loan amount, leaving Polayya out of pocket. Two months after the car was stolen it was recovered in Ivory Park and two people were arrested. "The car had been in an accident, though, so the insurance company did not give it back to me," Polayya said. He is due to give evidence as a witness in the theft trial next week. "The dealership still has no clue how the car was stolen and I don't think they are really bothered, not even after I told one the sales managers that people have been arrested," he said. The incident has prejudiced Polayya in terms of motor insurance. "I have a problem getting reasonable insurance as I am now regarded as high-risk because of claiming for my car being stolen," he said. Jeff Osborne, CEO of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), said he wasn't aware of the trend (of cars being stolen from motor dealership service departments) but said it was "very worrying indeed". "We will send a circular to the dealerships stressing the need for them to tighten their security procedures in order to safeguard their customers' cars while in their care, because they are responsible for the negligent actions of their employees." If it was the dealerships, rather than their customers, who suffered the biggest financial loss when cars were stolen from their service departments, they'd no doubt regard this trend in an altogether different light. As always, companies ought to be judged not by their mistakes, but how they choose to take responsibility for them.

Warning - Thieves stealing cars from dealership service depts

Thieves have found an alarmingly novel way to bag themselves a car, freshly serviced and washed, some even with the keys in the ignition - t...

6:36 PM

House robbed with help of domestic workers

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH3ogxf2hKKBM4pNYnGUl1ut_To-NLWzSd4GjUyECBb7Qfx9XGPLY3jU4cmCGBWZtf3y7F-0c4xFnzfDDAind-OjWTvVsQ9ttuCoV4bxYztIlila3ezW7kZ9FXI0FISyH5l5RxHmJrTw/s1600-h/MAID.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395879156492204930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH3ogxf2hKKBM4pNYnGUl1ut_To-NLWzSd4GjUyECBb7Qfx9XGPLY3jU4cmCGBWZtf3y7F-0c4xFnzfDDAind-OjWTvVsQ9ttuCoV4bxYztIlila3ezW7kZ9FXI0FISyH5l5RxHmJrTw/s400/MAID.JPG" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a>The majority of violent armed robberies involve domestic workers and gardeners. Research done on residential robberies by Dr Rudolph Zinn, of Unisa's department of criminal and forensic investigations, shows that 80% of house robberies take place thanks to the insider-information criminals obtained from domestic workers, gardeners and former employees.<a href="http://www.iol.co.za/widgets/rss_redirect.php?artid=nw20091023121646928C656363&setid=1&sectid=13&url=iol&vne=0&csect=South+Africa" onclick="_IG_FRUC_setFeedAsRead(17,1)" target="_blank" title="Two domestic workers have been arrested for helping four man rob a house in Sandton, Johannesburg.">Domestic workers 'helped robbers'</a>A Bryanston house was robbed in Sandton this morning, with the help of domestic workersFour men robbed a house in Sandton, allegedly with the assistance of two domestic workers, Johannesburg police said on Friday. Inspector Lee Ramdiyal said the incident happened on Thursday morning in Bryanston."The men gained access to the complex by pretending to be "service providers".They then accosted the home owner, tied her up and ransacked the house of jewellery, cash, firearms and laptop.The robbers fled in a white car.After a police investigation it was suspected that the domestic workers could be involved in the robbery. The domestic workers, aged 27 and 29, were traced and arrested."The domestic workers were in possession of some of the jewellery and cash that was taken during the robbery."A man, aged 59, was arrested for the robbery as well. He was found in possession of a firearm and a large amount of cash.Those arrested are being detained at the Sandton police station on charges of armed robbery..

House robbed with help of domestic workers

The majority of violent armed robberies involve domestic workers and gardeners. Research done on residential robberies by Dr Rudolph Zinn, o...

1:00 PM

South Africa P.I.G.