Cape Town - Crime fighters have welcomed the arrest of three suspects for kidnapping, extortion and murder following the discovery of the body of a 48-year-old Chinese national in Khayelitsha on the Day of Goodwill.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said preliminary investigations suggested that two brothers, aged 52 and 48, were abducted in Mowbray on December 22 by unknown assailants.
Pojie said the suspects later contacted relatives and demanded cash for their safe return.
“They were instructed not to talk to authorities as that would have put their loved ones directly in harm’s way.
“However, police immediately activated a multi-disciplinary team to probe the disappearance of the brothers. Their resilience paid off when they arrested the trio and took them in for interrogation,” he said.
Pojie said the body of the 48-year- old was discovered on December 26, and his 52-year-old brother was found in a serious condition along Swartklip Road in Khayelitsha on December 28.
The suspects, aged 30, 32 and 37, were expected to appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on charges relating to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and extortion.
Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) chairperson, Ndithini Tyhido, said the community is disturbed by the incident.
“We note with grave concern the increase in both kidnapping and crimes of extortion in our area.
“We further would like to commend the SAPS for its swift response in bringing the suspects to book.
“We call on the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to increase and maintain the number of police specialised units to deal with these sophisticated and dangerous crimes, including the construction mafia, that derails all developmental projects in the area.
“The KDF calls for an all-of-society approach in dealing with the scourge,” he said.
Mowbray Community Policing Forum (CPF) member, Jonathan Hobday, said they had kept the community informed of the incident.
“The CPF is naturally very perturbed to learn that the spate of kidnappings and extortion has now surfaced in this precinct.
We are deeply distressed by the death of one of the victims and the injuries to the other one. We commend the police for making arrests in the matter and look forward to justice being served.
“We further urge all our residents to be on the alert to assist in combating this new crime scourge,” Hobday said.
Anti-crime activist, Hanif Loonat, said: “It's unfortunate that we are not getting to the main perpetrators.
“These are foot soldiers who do the guarding and snatching. Let’s get to the heads of these syndicates,” Loonat said.
Cape Times