Funeral parlour owners need to stop armed robberies dead in their tracks
MBOMBELA - Owners of funeral parlours have been urged to improve their banking and security systems to avoid being victims of crime.
Joseph Josias Sanderson, the provincial chairperson of the South African Funeral Practitioners Association, has called on owners of funeral parlours to use online banking to avoid being victims of crimes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Three funeral parlours where robbed of undisclosed sums of money in Mbombela and KaBokweni last week.
Sanderson said there were no clear guidelines on how their members should run their business and on how they should handle their cash.
He said it is high time that business managers migrate to use digital banking rather than traditional face-to-face banking.
"We are encouraging our businesses to catch up with the Fourth Industrial Revolution by using improved technology. We urge our members to move with times and upgrade their banking systems so that clients can make payments online from the safety of their homes and only bring receipts at our offices,” he said.
He said businesses must avoid keeping large sums of money in their offices.
Brig Leonard Hlathi said the police have launched a manhunt for the thieves.
The first crime took place on
June 30 and the second on July
1 in Mbombela, and the third in KaBokweni on July 3.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspects entered the businesses under false pretences, requesting to sign up for funeral policies. They then demanded money at gunpoint, tied the employees up or locked them in storerooms before fleeing the scene," he said.
The police have made no arrests. The provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, has since requested the funeral parlour owners to strengthen their security measures when banking or collecting money from clients.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects, is urged to contact Det Col Lisa Sambo on 082-462-2748 or the Crime Stop number 08600-10111.
A tip-off can also be forwarded to the MYSAPSAPP, which can be easy downloaded on any smart phone.