Elderly residents at a retirement centre on the beachfront have become prisoners in their own homes.
|||Durban - Elderly residents at a Durban retirement centre on the beachfront have become prisoners in their own homes after falling prey to “ruthless and heartless” criminals.
The Parkview Retirement Court residents said there had been at least two muggings daily in the last month.
So terrified are the residents that they now leave their homes only if they are forced to.
Bridget Jessen, 83, who has lived in the centre for more than two years, said the lack of police visibility was exacerbating the problem.
Police have promised to investigate the claims.
Jessen said the residents had lost count of the number of times they had brought cases to the attention of police without much joy.
“It got a bit better last year but we’ve seen a spike in the last month or so where a day doesn’t go by without someone being robbed of their money, jewellery or other belongings,” she said, adding the residents were attacked when they walked to the nearest shopping outlets at the beachfront.
The latest victim of the gang is a 72-year-old man who was throttled before being stripped of his jewellery and cash.
The man, who identified himself only as Klaus, had recently returned to the home after undergoing a heart bypass operation when he was robbed while walking to a food outlet. Klaus said he was too frightened for his life to report the incident to police.
“This has been going on every day now for the past month and we’re clearly being targeted because we’re old and fragile,” said Jessen.
Independent on Saturday