Saturday, February 13, 2010

LTS coping with thievery again

A week ago thieves tried unsuccessfully to steal the Seminary car.  They gained access to the closed premises by heaving the electronic gate out of its hinges and then leaving standing askew. Although they broke into the car, ransacking it and disconnecting a lot of electric wiring, they were not able to drive the car away. So it was still parked on the premises between Segoe House where Hoffmeiers are housed and Schulz House where students were sleeping. So far so good.
The following evening my brother Gerhard had fixed the electric gate, but another bunch of thugs gained access. This time they aimed for the computers of our Lutheran friends from the USA. They stole Hoffmeiers computer fishing it through the window in Segoe-House and then had the cheek to climb into Dube House, where the Burnhams are living this Quarter. They stole their way through the bathroom and into the living-room, where they had 2 Mac's parked. Off they went with these too!
The story is not finished yet. On Tuesday Joe Burnham got a call from somebody, who had just bought his best computer at some store in Sunnyside. As all his data was still on the computer, he was tracked by the purchaser. Although a deal seemed likely, Joe has not seen his computer yet - even though contact was made. Perhaps it was just an audacious thief, who did not only steal the computer, but wanted a top-up by reselling it again to the one with the original loss.
The insurance has indicated that these computers are covered. However it is an angry issue and even a bit scary to have guys running around your house at night without any invitation.
This morning when I ran into the Burnhams and the Hoffmeiers at the farmers market both seemed  to cope quite well with this loss. They are good people in Lutheran missions. 

1 comment:

  1. As an update, my computer was returned to me a little over a week after the theft. While there were a few missing files, nothing of significance was lost and things are back to normal. I'm in absolute awe that my computer has been returned (and if you're looking for a VW in Pretoria, I can point you to an honest salesman).

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