There seems to be a new breed of “decent” criminals on the loose amidst a serious crime wave in Eltivillas, Louis Trichardt.

During the early morning hours of Friday, June 10, three unmasked gunmen broke into Mr Abdul Omar’s home and held him and his family hostage for close to an hour while ransacking the house.

The three gunmen gained entry to the house through an unbarred bathroom window while the family was asleep. They first woke up Mr Omar’s three sons between the ages of eight and 12 and then forced them into the room where Mr Omar, his wife and four-year-old son were sleeping. The robbers then woke Mr Omar. “You can’t imagine what it feels like waking up in the middle of the night and seeing your children being held at gunpoint,” Mr Omar said.

What followed was a series of events that, despite their nightmarish ordeal, made Mr Omar refer to the thugs as quite decent.

The three eldest boys, Omar and his wife were all tied up with cable ties. Omar was forced to the floor and his hands tied behind his back. He protested, however, that the cable ties were too tight, to which the burglars promptly responded by tying his hands in front of him instead.

For the next hour, one thief kept a watchful eye over the Omar family while the other two went about their business of cleaning out the house. “They took all the cash, the jewellery and even my sons´ clothes and new tekkies,” said Omar.

At some stage, one of the robbers noticed Omar’s cigarettes and asked him if he smoked. The thug then proceeded to light a cigarette for himself and when Omar’s four-year-old son protested that his father smoked outside, the thug kindly went to enjoy his cigarette in another room.

Omar was also taken by surprise when another robber emptied his wallet, but said that he would leave his driver’s licence. He also asked whether Mr Omar would like his cellphone´s SIM-card back, as they were taking his phone. Omar said yes and the robber removed the SIM-card and left it on the floor.

But this was not the end of the crooks´ “decent” behaviour. Before leaving, the gang cut Omar and his family loose and merely tied them up with tape. They then fetched some blankets and covered the whole Omar family to protect them against the winter cold. Omar’s wife managed to wiggle loose and free the rest of the family, after which Omar phoned his brother and the police were summonsed.

Omar said that although the thugs had been quite decent, the whole ordeal had left an emotional scar on them. “I have to asses the whole perimeter of the house and upgrade my security. In addition, my boys have to receive trauma counselling,” he said.

The Omar family’s ordeal was not, however, the only one of its kind in Eltivillas last week.

On Thursday afternoon, Mrs Tribhovan (64), who stays a mere stone´s throw from the Omar residence, was also attacked in her home. Her assailants were not as nice. She recalls three unmasked men and a woman entering her house through the backdoor and threatening her with a knife.

“They threw me on the floor and told me to stay down, while they went through the house,” said Mrs Tribhovan. The criminals were ruthless, breaking cupboards in search of something to steal. They took most of her jewellery.

In yet another incident, Surat in Eltivillas was the victim’s off a botched robbery attempt on Friday afternoon. According to Mr Pramond Patel, four men hid in the store over lunchtime and tried to empty out the cash registers while the store was locked. The suspects were, however, noticed when they tripped the alarm. Police were quick to arrive on the scene and managed to arrest one suspect. The other three were arrested on Saturday.

Local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike said the police were investigating all three incidents. In the four arrested suspects´ case, Sadike confirmed that they appeared in the Louis Trichardt District Court. No bail was granted and all four will remain in custody until their next court appearance on June 20.

It is not clear whether the three robberies are related.