Diamond dealer shot down

2008-11-19 09:01

Herman Scholtz

Johannesburg - A prominent diamond dealer has been shot down near his workplace under mysterious circumstances. Nothing was stolen from him.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said Michel Rubenik, 50, was killed near the Diamond Centre in the Johannesburg city centre at about 19:15 on Monday night.

"Two cars, one of them a Mercedes-Benz came towards him and he was shot (from the car)."

It was not known how many gunmen had approached him or why they had shot him.

"Not a lot of people want to talk to us," said Opperman.

Dealers fearing for their safety

A friend and fellow dealer in the building wanted to be known as Mr Ash for safety reasons. He said on Tuesday that all the diamond dealers now feared for their safety.

Ash said Rubenik was of Israeli descent and apparently had a four-month-old baby girl. He was a prominent dealer who had done business in Johannesburg for several years.

Ash said Rubenik always carried a firearm with him for security.

"In that building (the Diamond Centre) we work with billions of rands of diamonds. You would expect it to be one of the safest places, but the security measures are a joke. There aren't even enough security cameras and the robbers and criminals know this."

Opperman said three men who had been arrested in Norwood, Johannesburg, with AK47s could not yet be linked to the incident.

"We have to do ballistics tests and don't even know what the motive is for the murder," he said.

'Part of the statistics'

Ash said the whole diamond community was saddened by Rubenik becoming "part of the statistics".

He said the news was on Israeli television on Tuesday morning before police had even "lifted a finger".

"Here in our beautiful country, he is but another example that government cannot fight crime."

- Beeld