GRAAFF-REINET CRIME NEWS IN SHORT

At about 04:40, the victim was with her boyfriend in a shed in the backyard of a house in the township. Two men known to the victim entered the room, and one started to play with her hair while the other suspect put his hand up under her skirt and touched her genitals. No arrests have yet been made.

There were four burglaries at businesses during the past week, and two at residential properties.

According to the complainant in the first case, the front window to his shop in Caledon Street was broken during the period between 18:00 on 11 December and 07:30 the next day. A window was broken with an unknown object to gain entrance, and a television to the value of R4 200 was stolen.

The second break-in occurred at The Milk Shop in Church Street, between closing time on 12 December and 06:25 the next day. The wooden entry door was broken to gain entrance, and eggs, milk and a kettle to the value of R800 were taken.

Between 09:00 on 13 December and 18:20 on 17 December, the fence of Kroonvale Pre-primary School was cut to gain entrance and the store room was broken into. A wheelbarrow and door to the value of R3 200 were taken.

The last business burglary took place on 17 December between 17:00 and 20:23 at the Graaff-reinet Golf Club. According to the complainant, the door was forced open to gain entrance to the premises, and then the door to the bar was also forced open. It is not certain at this stage what has been stolen.

In a case of residential burglary, the complainant was informed that his shack in Vrygronde had been broken into at about 23:00 on 8 December. A cupboard, a mattress, blankets, cutlery and crockery, a two -plate stove and a telephone, all to the value of R4 280, were stolen.

The second incident took place in umasizakhe while the complainant was at work, between 18:00 on 16 December and 07:30 the next day. Then he returned home, he found the padlock not in its place. Upon investigation, he found clothing, a wallet and groceries, all to the value of R4 700, had been stolen.

A case of malicious damage to property was opened after an incident at a car dealership on Market Square, between 07:00 and 08:15 on 12 December. The complainant saw the suspect tampering with a bakkie, and when he tried to apprehend the suspect, the suspect broke a canopy window, valued at R1 500. The suspect is unknown at this stage, and the case is under investigation.

A suspect has been arrested for robbery, after he stole R140 from a man’s back pocket at the Robert Sobukwe building after grabbing him. The incident occurred at 17:20 on 12 December.

There were two more cases of robbery, where a knife was used in each case to threaten the victims.

The first took place on 9 December at 09:25 in Umasizakhe. According to the complainant, he was on his way home from a shop when two men approached him and threatened him with a knife before taking his cell phone and running away. The value of the cell phone is R2 100.

Between 04:00 and 05:00 on 15 December, the complainant and his friend were on their way home from a tavern when two men came up to them and threatened them with a knife. The complainant and his friend were robbed of their shoes, as well as a cell phone, with a total value of R6 000. The suspects in this case are known, but have not yet been arrested.

A case of stock theft has been opened after 41 merino sheep were taken from the grazing camp at the farm Grootvlakte. The incident took place between 3 December and 12 December. The value of the sheep is R61 500.

There was another case of fraud this week, where a man was conned into depositing several amounts of cash before a loan could be processed. He applied for a loan with Trade Finance at the end of last month and was told to deposit different amounts of cash (totalling R13 424) before his loan could be processed. The money was deposited into the Trade Finance account at FNB, but at this stage, the suspect is unknown.

Six cases of theft were opened last week.

According to the complainant in the first case, a CCTV camera, worth R5 000, was stolen from his business premises in Somerset Street, during the period from 8 December to 13 December.

In the next case, the complainant left his cell phone with a friend at 05:00 on 9 December as she wanted to use it, but when he returned at around 10:00 the same day, they could not find the phone. The value of the phone is R800.

At about 12:00 on 11 December, washing to the estimated value of R7 500 was stolen from a clothes line in the garden of a house in West Street.

The next incident took place between 1 December and 7 December in Asherville. According to the complainant, suspects gained entry to his premises and stole wooden poles and an electrical cord to the value of R450.

Between 16:30 on 15 December and 06:30 the next morning, shade netting to the value of R2 000 was stolen from business premises in Murray Street

The last incident of theft took place between 29 November and 10:00 on 1 December. According to the complainant, her bank card was stolen from a wallet in Caledon Street, and an amount of R2 000 was withdrawn in several small amounts at Nedbank.

Finally, there were three cases of goods being stolen from a vehicle.

In the first, which occurred at 13:30 on 14 December, the complainant’s vehicle was parked in Church Square and she went to Standard Bank. About 15 minutes later she returned and noticed that the canopy of her bakkie was slightly open. Upon investigation, she found that a bag containing toiletries and other smaller bags, as well as personal documents (including her ID), were missing. The value of the stolen items amounts to R6 000.

The second incident happened at the Graaff-reinet Golf Club. The complainant was at the Club on 15 December between 18:00 and 18:45, and when he left, at first he did not notice anything wrong with the vehicle. When he arrived home, he found that the vehicle’s canvas covering had been cut open and nine golf clubs had been stolen. The value of the clubs was given as about R2 000.

In the last case of the week, the complainant parked his vehicle in front of his guest house in Caledon Street on 16 December at 21:30.

The next morning, when he returned to the vehicle at about 06:00, he found the back window of the canopy had been removed and a bag containing shoes, hair dryers and a blood pressure machine, was missing. The value of the stolen items amounts to R5 800.