The silly season is upon us, and bearing in mind that crowded malls and shopping centres provide opportunity for criminals to make their move, recent CCTV footage shows how easily a purse could be stolen at the Clearwater Mall Vodacom 4U shop on 17 October at about 5.55pm.
There were only a few customers in the store at the time. In the footage, a mother is seated in the store together with her baby – sleeping in the pram.
A woman walked into the store and stands near the pram. She walks to the entrance where a brief interaction can be seen between herself and a man in a grey shirt. He then takes a pamphlet and walks to the back of the store where the mother and her pram are located. He pretends to be viewing the cellphone covers and stands near the pram for a short time. Using the pamphlet as cover, the suspect reaches into the back of the pram and takes the purse. The couple then quickly exit the store.
Management and security viewed the CCTV footage.
Security, despite swift efforts, were unable to apprehend the suspects or recover the purse.
Requests for comment have been sent to Clearwater Mall and Honeydew police but was not received by the time of publication.
