We can't help, cops tell victim

2008-11-24 22:34

Fanie van Rooyen

Pretoria - "Sorry, we have nobody to send out. We can't help you at this moment."

This is the answer Matthys Loubser, a resident of the crime-ridden Kameeldrift, northeast of Pretoria, got when he called the local police on Saturday after robbers opened fire on him and his family.

"Three weeks ago they poisoned five of my six dogs and on Saturday they shot out four of my windows, but a case hasn't been opened yet," said Loubser, a building contractor, on Monday.

He said detectives from this charge office could only come on Monday afternoon to investigate the matter.

Already in the house

"That's too late, I've already had all the windows fixed. I can't possibly go to bed at night with broken windows."

Loubser said the dog that wasn't poisoned slept in the house on Saturday night.

"The barking dog woke us up and I went to investigate in the main bedroom."

"When I walked in, I saw someone fiddling with the burglar bars.

"I'm not sure how many robbers there were, but some of them were already in the house," he said.

"When they saw me, they fled. As they ran, they fired four or five shots in my direction, which took out the bedroom windows."

Loubser's cousin, his two brothers and his fianceé were also in the house.

Called cops immediately

"We're just so lucky that nobody got hurt.

"But the service from the Kameeldrift police was pathetic. When the robbers started firing, I called the police immediately, but they said they couldn't help me."

However, shortly after his call, officers from the Onderstepoort police station arrived at Loubser's house. He suspects they were called by the Kameeldrift police.

"We're glad that someone came to help us, but it makes us feel very unsafe when our nearest police station can't come to our assistance."

Police spokesperson Constable Portia Maleka said on Monday nobody at the Kameeldrift police office had any knowledge of the incident, but that Loubser could call the station commissioner if he was unhappy with the police's service.

- Beeld