MOSSEL BAY NEWS - An 18-year-old Free State resident, visiting Mossel Bay with two friends for the Matriekbaai, has said she was relieved and "very happy" to have her stolen vehicle recovered and returned, and the alleged thief arrested within 24 hours of the theft being reported.
Thanked
Zuané Saaiman thanked Mossel Bay Police Station officers, Sergeant Tarryn Duitsjan and Constable Jason Pokpass, for their quick response and hard work that resulted in her stolen vehicle, and some items that were stolen from her two friends, Catinka Bredenkamp and Righardt Adendorf, being recovered on the same day the theft was reported.
Saaiman said she, Bredenkamp and Adendorf were staying in a flat in Da Gama Street for the duration of the Matriekbaai and all three were fast asleep when the flat was broken into in the early hours of 6 December.
Woke up
Saaiman said when she woke up later that morning, Adendorf asked her where his phone was.
"He was walking around the flat, looking for his phone, and then for his vape. I then went to the lounge because I wanted to look for my car keys, but they weren't on the coffee table. I went out to the balcony and saw my car was not in the driveway. I asked him where he had parked my car.
Constable Jason Pokpass and Sergeant Tarryn Duitsjan. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
"Just as I finished asking him that question, my other friend (Bredenkamp) opened the fridge and shouted that all our food and booze were gone. That was when we realised we had been burgled and my car was stolen."
Saaiman said even the coffee and sugar had been stolen. She said the three of them informed the owner of the flat and it was reported to the police on the morning of 7 December. A case of theft of a motor vehicle and a case of housebreaking and theft were opened.
Complaint
Constable Pokpass and Sergeant Duitsjan received the complaint and began working on the case immediately.
The pair were able to gather information which led them to a 27-year-old suspect, who was found in possession of Saaiman's car keys.
They were then able to trace the friend's stolen phone to a shop in the Great Brak area and learnt that Saaiman's car was in Thembalethu, George.
Recovered
The phone was recovered and returned to Adendorf and Saaiman was driven to Thembalethu by an officer from the Mossel Bay Police Station, to retrieve her car.
She drove it back to Mossel Bay on Saturday afternoon, escorted by the officer. "I am very happy. The Mossel Bay Police gave very good service. I did not think my car would be found," she said.
Saaiman and her two friends were able to return to the Free State in her car on Wednesday. The suspect was expected to appear in the Mossel Bay Magistrate's Court during the week but the outcome of his appearance was not known by the time of going to print.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
