Posted on
10 August 2013 by Africa Business
A couple
is taking action after their car was allegedly stripped while under police
guard after it was recovered following a hijacking.
Renee and
Conroy Gericke were hijacked of their VW Polo at gunpoint in Boksburg in
January, the Saturday Star reported.
Police
recovered the car in Tembisa in May and placed it at the Van Ryn Deep Vehicle
Safeguarding Unit in Mackenzie Benoni.
The
couple told the Saturday Star that while the vehicle was at the pound, it was
stripped of its side mirrors, console gauges and computer box.
The
Gericke’s now wanted police to pay for the tow truck charges and damages the car
incurred while in the police pound.
“We don’t
have any insurance, now the car is sitting at home gathering dust yet we are
still paying for it,” Renee Gericke was quoted as saying.
“We are
losing time at work and money driving up and down because of the negligence of
the police.”
Brigadier
Neville Malala confirmed the Gericke’s had instituted civil action against the
police.
“The
allegation (of the car being stripped) has come to our attention after a
criminal case of theft from the motor vehicle was registered,” Malila told the
newspaper.
He said
Lt-Gen Mzwandile Petros had called for an internal probe. So far, none of the
perpetrators had been identified.
