MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A Mossel Bay resident has told how a video camera on her dashboard and the fact that she uses the services of a vehicle tracking company saved her from being robbed.
But she suffered the trauma of being held at knifepoint.
While the two criminals were speaking to her, she pressed her emergency tracker button and her three cellphones all started ringing. One phone is for personal calls and the other two for her two businesses.
She told the criminals that people were calling her because she had pressed the button and also that via GPS they could see her location.
She also pointed out that her dashcam was filming everything.
Gave everything back
So, after having gone through her vehicle and taken all they wanted, the men immediately gave everything back to her and allowed her to drive away from the scene.
The woman said two police officers in a police van were in the street and she asked them: "Did you see what just happened?" But she claims they did not assist her.
She drove to the closest police station, Da Gamaskop in D'Almeida, which is three to four kilometres from the crime scene.
The woman said that one of the criminals had told her: "I have to get my next fix. I am addicted to drugs."
The incident took place at about 15:00 on Good Friday, 15 April.
The woman is a driver for a national online taxi booking company, but has decided to quit her taxi work. Online, one can see the vehicle she drives and her profile picture. She said the person who had called for the taxi immediately walked towards her as she came to the location. He had 150 five-star ratings according to the taxi company. The moment she was held at knifepoint the taxi App noted: "Driver cancelled."
Also, as she came to fetch him, the street was listed as No Name Street and now the taxi company refuses to disclose the "passenger's" identity.
Street name
The woman does not know the street name, but she says it will be evident to the tracking company she uses.
She says: "There was no escape. A lot of people were standing around. About 100 metres from me were the police [in the van]."
The woman said: "When they [police] drove past me the man had to use the cul de sac to turn around. I said: 'Did you see what just happened? Can you try arrest him?' But they just drove off.'"
When she got to the DaGamaskop Police Station she asked if the officers she saw were members of the police station, but she was told there were only two officers on duty at the police station and they were there at the station, not out patrolling.
She insisted that she be given something in print at Da Gamaskop Police Station. She was given an incident number. "The time on time stamp is 4.17pm," the woman says.
She also said a private security company vehicle was in the street during the incident. After the incident, she had a brief conversation with the company staffer, who stopped in his car outside the DaGamaskop Police Station.
The woman, who is new in Mossel Bay and does not know the roads well yet, said she decided to work as a driver because her research had shown her there was a need for drivers with vehicles who could transport people in wheelchairs. Hence she bought a wheelchair-friendly vehicle. She had owned beauty businesses previously, but they had been badly affected by Covid-19 restrictions.
Police comment
The Mossel Bay Advertiser asked police spokesperson Warrant Officer Kappie Kapp for comment on the attempted robbery.
He said the police were concerned that a taxi e-hailing system was being used by criminals to exploit members of public. Regarding the victim, Kapp said: "It's good that she stayed calm."
Kapp said the police encouraged others using online taxi services in future to "make sure they understand their surroundings, make contact with the local police stations and get to know the police and the surroundings".
He said: "Any person who has a problem with service delivery can contact the commander of the three police stations in Mossel Bay, Colonel Masakala at DaGamaskop (044 606 2200), Lieut-Col Julius at KwaNonqaba Police Station (044 606 5606/044 606 5600) and Lieut-Col September at Mossel Bay Police Station (044 606 2800).
"People can go to any one of these if they feel they don't get service. There is an open door policy and processes can be followed."
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