P'nP: Extortionist spotted?

2003-07-10 22:29

Erika Fourie

Bloemfontein - Two Bloemfontein women believe they might have spotted the Pick 'n Pay extortionist who is trying to blackmail the retailer by poisoning some products.

A housewife said she overheard a suspect cellphone conversation by a man who was sitting behind her at Cape Town International Airport.

A teacher, who was sitting opposite them in the departure lounge on Sunday afternoon, confirmed that the "Oriental" man acted very suspiciously when he suddenly started talking excitedly on his cellphone.

"He first read the headlines of an English newspaper and was very excited when he phoned someone on his cellphone.

'How's it there in Durban? Tell ... (name couldn't be made out) it works! Tell him to buy the English Sunday papers. It's now nationwide and they even offer a reward. Sorry to bother you, but please tell ... to read the papers'," the housewife, who wants to remain anonymous, heard.

Sunday's headlines focused on the R5m reward that Pick 'n Pay is offering for information on the extortionist.

"I was sitting with my back to him, but could clearly hear what he was saying," the housewife said.

The teacher described the man as a "neat, dark man with short hair, a slight beard and glasses".

"I heard him saying: "The news just broke in the papers. Think I must just tell you". He had no luggage with him. He wasn't on the Bloemfontein flight."

The housewife said she couldn't understand at first why someone could be so excited about the contents of a newspaper.

"But when I was safely on the plane, I realised it could be a possible clue in the poison drama."

Senior Superintendent Selby Bokaba, police spokesperson, apparently burst out laughing when he was told about the women's observations.

"The guilty parties are much cleverer than that. There is no way a person involved in such a serious crime would leak the fact in public. If he was that careless, he would have been caught long ago," Bokaba said.

Pick 'n Pay CEO Sean Summers, however, said they would definitely follow up the information. "We cannot ignore any information," he said.

- Volksblad