Lock your doors!
2010-02-25
Lise Beyers
WITH the 2010 World Cup on our doorstep, two German tourists were attacked in a luxurious guest-house in Paarl last weekend. The incident took place at Berghof Guesthouse high on the slopes of Paarl Mountain. The tourists were about to go to bed at 01:00 on Saturday morning, when they were overpowered by two men. The young man and woman were tied up with a scarf and an electric cord, while the men ransacked the room in search of valuables. The robbers had possibly gained access to the room through a sliding door which had not been closed properly. They escaped through the same entrance in possession of a laptop, two cellphones and a watch. The tourists managed to free themselves and alerted another guest for help. They cut short their trip to the area, returning to Cape Town and reportedly flying back to Germany as soon as possible. A week prior to this incident, a burglar also gained access to another guest room at Berghof, and stole various items while a man was sleeping. The burglar escaped unnoticed. And only 24 hours before the latest robbery, another guest-house in Paarl South was targeted. The owner of the guest-house was awakened shortly after midnight on Thursday by his barking dog. When he went to investigate, he was confronted by two men on a staircase. They threatened him with a knife and demanded valuables. The robbers escaped with a laptop, cellphone and an undisclosed sum of money. The police were on the scene within minutes of being alerted, and this led to the arrest of two suspects later on Friday, in possession of the stolen lap-top. These attacks follow a spate of burglaries in the upmarket neighbourhoods of central Paarl towards the end of last year. Subsequently, three men were arrested in Bloekombos, Kraaifontein, in connection with at least two of these incidents.
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