Robber's loot issss 1.2m long

2006-09-13 23:19

Virginia Keppler

Pretoria - A "robot robber" who grabbed a bank bag from a car at a red traffic light is probably still regretting his action - instead of booty he found a 1.2m hissing snake.

A 34-year-old Lichtenburg man, who asked to remain anonymous because he was in a company car in Pretoria, told Beeld he fetched the snake from a friend and was on his way back to Lichtenburg when the robber struck.

"I was waiting at a traffic light at the Olifantsfontein off-ramp on the R21 when the window on the passenger seat was shattered.

"The next moment, I saw a hand grabbing my diary. I grabbed the hand with my left one, but couldn't get a better grip.

"When the light turned green and I carried on driving, I noticed the bank bag with the snake on the passenger-side floor had gone."

"I was hoping the snake would bite the person so that he would go to hospital, thinking it was poisonous. It's an easy way to catch a thief," he joked.

Robber's reaction

The man said that initially he was furious, but he laughed afterwards, thinking about the robber's reaction when he opened the bag.

"What gets me, though, is that the snake cost me R3 000 and then I had to pay R1 300 to repair the window."

He said he bred snakes and usually just had poisonous ones. It was the first time he had bought a non-poisonous snake.

- Beeld