MOSSEL BAY NEWS & VIDEO - What was supposed to be a dream trip, as well as their honeymoon, turned out a nightmare for Australian couple Mal Gegg and Catherine Duff, when their belongings were stolen from their rented vehicle in mere minutes while they were replacing a mobile device at a Mossel Bay mall last Friday, 1 July.
The couple, who reside on a small farm between Sydney and Canberra married on 4 April this year. They had started doing research for their trip to Southern Africa some two years ago. They arrived in South Africa on 6 June.
Two very keen photographers, they went off to the Kruger National Park, Botswana and Zimbabwe, before arriving Port Elizabeth where they collected a rental car, to travel down the Garden Route.
Their stay in Mossel Bay was concluded at the Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, where Mal lost his mobile phone during a game drive.
"We were on our way to Oudtshoorn and popped in at the Langeberg Mall to buy a tablet. We parked our vehicle in the middle of the reasonably full open parking area just after 11:00," Mal told the Advertiser. With all their luggage, including expensive, specialised camera equipment, stored safely in the boot of the silver Nissan Almera, they locked the car via remote control and walked off into the mall.
"We couldn't have been more than 30 minutes," comments Catherine. Upon their return to the vehicle Catherine wanted to retrieve something from the boot, only to find it emptied out.
"It was complete disbelief. It was absolutely crazy. There was just nothing in the boot. We were left with the clothes on our backs."
Catherine's backpack containing their passports, which she says never leaves her side, on Friday per chance was left in the boot and hence, unfortunately, also stolen.
Mal works in the correctional service in Australia and says that he is very safety conscious. "Before we left Botlierskop, I checked all our luggage in the boot and we didn't stop anywhere apart from the mall."
He says that upon driving into the mall parking area, he took note of at least three security guards. "I am always very cautious because of my line of work. I take the same precautions here, as I would at home. Because nothing else in our lives are expensive, except for our camera gear."
Following the incident, Mal and Catherine reported it to the mall management. The Da Gamaskop police were contacted and arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.
The couple lost both a Canon D5 and D6 camera, a Canon 400mm f2.8 fixed lens, a Canon 200mm f2.8 lens and a specialised Canon tilt-shift lens. Apart from this, they lost three 64G, four 32G and four 16G SD memory cards, as well a one terabyte hard drive.
"We took no less than 6 000 photographs during our trip," Mal says. Catherine adds that apart from capturing their memories, they were hoping to make commercial use of their shots.
"This trip was, in fact, a springboard for a new business for us."
Upon viewing security camera footage of the incident at the mall on Friday, according to Mal, one can see a man approaching their vehicle, fiddling with the door on the passenger side and getting into the car upon opening it.
As he opens the car boot, it appears that two other men join him and start unpacking their boot, as a white car pulls up behind their parked Nissan.
"It looks as if the white vehicle is trying to block the view, but then drives off. The men can be seen walking away casually towards the MacDonald's with Catherine's blue backpack, our red suitcase and our camera bags, including the rectangular shaped carry bag of my 400mm fixed lens."
The Da Gamaskop police confirmed on Wednesday that the video footage is too unclear for the identification of suspects.
On Monday, 4 July, Adrian Adams, upon visiting the Langeberg Mall with his mother-in-law between 12:00-13:00, also reported an incident to security guards on duty.
"We were in the parking area when I noticed a man walk up to a parked CBS-registered car. Once he unlocked the door, he climbed into the driver's seat and opened the boot from inside, just as a white GP-registered car pulled up behind him. I saw the man in the CBS-registered car get out, take a black bag resembling a laptop bag out of the boot. He then got into the GP-registered vehicle, which drove off."
Formerly being a member of his neighbourhood watch, Adams says he is very vigilant, hence he reported the incident to mall security. According to information, there was, however no theft reported following the incident.
No forced entry
Since no visible signs of forced entry could be noticed on the vehicle, it is assumed that criminals might have interfered with the remote locking procedure.
The Mossel Bay Advertiser approached experts for their opinion on this theory.
Steven Green, Southern Cape branch manager of ADT Security says remote control devices that counter the signal of a vehicle's designated remote control, are readily available.
"These devices can be bought over the counter and they do work. We advise people never to walk away from their vehicles, unless they have clearly heard the sound of it locking mechanically."
Wessel van der Westhuizen, owner of Electronic Services in Marsh Street, says the latest code-hopping remote control devices often share a frequency band with other remotes and using them to counter another signal, can be effective up to 100m.
"In an area where there is a lot of metal, like the parking lot of a mall, I would say it could be effective between 30m to 50m."
Evert Botha, manager at Audio Trading, also in Marsh Street, who specialises in the fitment of car alarms, says there is nothing vehicle owners can do to stop criminals attempting to scramble the signal of a remote locking device.
"To me, it is second nature to check whether my car doors are locked, when locking with my remote control. Even at home in my garage."
Despite their horror experience last Friday, Mal and Catherine compliment the Langeberg Mall management and the general public who approached them to assist.
"We have so many people to thank for helping us. We truly find South Africans tremendously sincere. Up to 11:17 on Friday, 1 July, we had a holiday exceeding all our expectations. Afterwards, though, I felt like never going on holiday again nor ever taking photographs again. But then I realised, we can't change what happened, but we can change the way we react to it," Catherine told the Advertiser.
Mal is offering a reward of R10 000 for the camera gear and another R5 000 for the SD cards to anyone who can return them. Anyone with information can email him at warior193@gmail.com.
A case of theft is being investigated by Const Thami Canda from the Da Gamaskop detective branch. Anyone with information can contact Const Canda (084 864 8184).
The Langeberg Mall was approached for comment. At the time of going to press their official feedback was not available, as their spokesperson was on leave.
Watch a video below on how to lock your car securely:
The Mossel Bay Advertiser, after going to print, received the following comment from Usman Aly, a media spokesperson for the Langeberg Mall, based in Johannesburg:
“We can confirm that a theft occurred at the open public parking area at the Langeberg Mall mid-morning on 01 July. Suspects broke into a car and stole personal belongings of an Australian couple on a holiday. The mall security immediately notified the local SAPS of the theft and has cooperated with its investigation.”
“We can confirm that a theft occurred at the open public parking area at the Langeberg Mall mid-morning on 01 July. Suspects broke into a car and stole personal belongings of an Australian couple on a holiday. The mall security immediately notified the local SAPS of the theft and has cooperated with its investigation.”
ARTICLE: CORNELLE CARSTENS, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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