Boys scam Bloem businesses
2006-08-10 08:08
Bloemfontein - Two boys in Bloemfontein have been "stealing" from businesses in the area, using a heart-rending fake story about a friend who died after being hit by a bus.
An adult woman is apparently the two boys' partner in crime.
Jianni Cilliers from Agrinet Solutions in Westdene says the two criminals are between eight and 10 years old.
"They came here asking for a donation for the funeral of a child who'd
died after being hit by a bus at the school.
"They had a form with a city school's logo on it. I asked for their teacher's name, but when I said I'm going to call the school, they ran away."
Cilliers said a colleague ran after the children, but they jumped into a car that had been waiting outside. "It was quite an expensive car, and a woman was driving. What made it really bad was that it could have been one of the boys' mother."
According to Cilliers, who did call the school, the teacher said the form was false and that she didn't know the who the children were.
"It's been going on for a while. About two months ago the children were also here. But we don't have the car's registration number, so we can't notify the police.
Police spokesperson superintendent Sam Makhele said anybody with more information on the case must let the police know.
"If we have a description of the woman, children or car, we can be on the lookout for them. The children are probably being used to do the dirty work."