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New crime trend! Cops say wi-fi detectors used to steal cellphones, laptops from cars

New crime trend! Cops say wi-fi detectors used to steal cellphones, laptops from cars

Pretoria – Police believe they have uncovered the reason behind the high number of theft of cellphones and laptops out of cars in the city and anywhere else across the country.

Spokesperson Captain Collett Weilbach said criminals were using increasingly sophisticated, directional wi-fi detectors to home in on the laptop or cellphone.

This could detect the gadgets from where they had been hidden, be it under the seat of the car or in the boot.

Weilbach urged members of the public, particularly motorists, to turn off the wi-fi of laptops and cellphones to avoid opening an invitation to thieves.

Police in the Brooklyn area, largely populated by students, as well as Sunnyside and the CBD have reported on an increase in the number of laptops stolen out of motor vehicles.

“I parked my car and walked to a restaurant, and all was well. On my return about two hours later, I noticed that one of the rear windows had been smashed.

“I checked under the driver’s seat where my laptop, valued at R15 000, had been, and was alarmed to find it gone.”

She said the laptop couldn’t be seen from any of the windows, and was thus puzzling how the perpetrators could have spotted it.

“I am convinced that they used some kind of a device to detect that I had a laptop in the car. I did not touch the laptop after parking the car, and it had been under the seat the entire time.”

Weilbach said in the majority of the cases, only laptops were stolen out of vehicles.

“The possibility is investigated that there is a new device that allow criminals to locate laptops in parked vehicles.

“Surrounding vehicles are not broken into; the criminals somehow break only into the car (with) laptops.” she said.

She said parking areas at shopping centres, schools, hospitals, sport events and gyms were targeted.

“Sometimes the doors or boots are forced open, and other times windows are broken to gain access.

“In a few incidents there are no signs of forced entry to the vehicle.

“The reports over weekends are the highest,” she said.

The police have cautioned motorists not to leave valuables inside a parked vehicle. Laptop owners in particular were advised to switch these off when travelling to make it invisible to other Bluetooth or wi-fi enabled devices and detectors.

Pretoria News
This report does not necessarily reflects the opinion of Pretoria.ws

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City of Tshwane: Workers who protested outside the Gauteng High Court are misinformed

City of Tshwane: Workers who protested outside the Gauteng High Court are misinformed

THE workers who protested outside the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, over what they perceived to be a delayed justice in their case with the City, were misinformed, municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said. The out-of-work staff and subcontractors were bused in to the court to demand a speedy verdict.

The court case concerns the validity of a tender between their employer, Moipone Group of Companies, and the City.

The high court heard the case on September 21, but a verdict is still pending.

The workers said they supported their employer, who took the City to the high court for refusing to pay for services rendered under a “valid and binding” contract.

To showcase their frustrations, they marched from Marabastad to the high court, where they delivered a memorandum to acting court manager Lucky Makumule.

The protesters said the City lacked the will to honour its contractual obligations and that had put them out of work since June.

They were hoping for a favourable verdict. They accused municipal manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola of delaying justice by delaying submissions of certain documents the City’s lawyers were supposed to submit to be considered for the verdict.

The protesters said they could not afford to care for their families this festive season because of the conflict between their employer and the City.

Moipone Group spokeperson Keamogetswe Matsho said the court confirmed the validity of the contract, but they took the City to court again to enforce it.

“We are faced with the non-payment of R75639581 by the City.

“Of that figure, 58% is beyond 120 days. Every business would be detrimentally affected by the non-payment.

“The company has already acquired specialised and extensive equipment and vehicles to service the City under this contract.

“The vehicles are idling due to the conduct of the City.

The company is expected to pay monthly liabilities towards the idling vehicles and equipment.

“We have even taken on the financial responsibility of assisting the subcontractors by lending them money as they are faced with dire financial predicaments.”

But Mashigo said the City contracted another transport company on an emergency basis for a year.

This was because of the under-performance by Moipone; delivery was way beyond schedule.

“The City has submitted all documentation as requested by the judge. In September, the judge requested parties to submit additional heads of argument. The City duly obliged. As far the city is concerned, judgment is reserved. The judge should be given time to craft a judgment.”

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Row over occupancy at Jean Crossing Shopping Centre in Centurion

Row over occupancy at Jean Crossing Shopping Centre in Centurion

TWO years after the upmarket Jean Crossing Shopping Centre in Centurion opened its doors, it is still battling to obtain a certificate of occupancy from the City.

The main dispute between the parties relates to the construction and completion of a main stormwater drainage system that the mall owners had agreed to erect on behalf of the City at an estimated cost of R22million.

The City accepted that the physical buildings and all services at the shopping centre had been completed, but it was not willing to issue the final certificate of occupancy as the stormwater drainage system had not been completed.

The City said the system – which will serve about 1000 households and numerous businesses around the shopping centre – constituted infrastructure “incidental to the building” (the mall) and it can thus not issue a final certificate.

This, while the Jean Crossing Shopping Centre had been occupied since 2015 and the City levying its full quota of rates and taxes, services charges, as well as water and electricity charges.

The mall is situated between the N14, Jean Avenue and Rabie Street, and lies directly below the Gautrain rail. It was established to meet the shopping needs of commuters and residents, providing everyday essentials from grocery shopping to restaurants and clothing retailers.

Centre co-owners – Egan Property Group, Jean Avenue Village, Rapfund Investments and Luvon Investments – turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to force the City to issue the certificate.

Judge Leicester Adams ordered the City to, within 14 days, decide whether or not to issue the certificate. If it decided to do so, the certificate had to be delivered within seven days. In the event of it declining to issue it, the City had to furnish the owners with full reasons for the refusal.

When the applicants issued the City in 2011 with their application for the development of a township on the properties where the shopping centre was subsequently built, it objected on the basis that “the existing stormwater system in Rabie Street is insufficient and must be upgraded”.

An integral part of the establishment of the township and the development of the mall, as approved by the City, was that the applicants had to construct a main stormwater drainage system to cater for the centre as well as for the surrounding area.

In terms of the agreement, the applicants had to construct the system and the City was to contribute about R20m towards the system. This huge project had not yet been completed and when the centre opened, a temporary occupancy certificate was issued.

But the City refused to issue the final certificate as it said it was under no legal obligation to do so, until the applicants had honoured its side of the bargain by building the stormwater drainage system.

The applicants said this was an extremely large undertaking, which was for the general benefit of the entire area, and it would take some time. The applicants said they never understood that this project would be linked to the building and the operation of the mall.

They said as they understood the agreement, the enlargement of the stormwater system was an additional service not linked to the development of the mall, but aimed at alleviating a severe stormwater problem in the larger area.

The court was told that following the construction of the mall, it was given the green light on all aspects of quality control and adhering to the building regulations. The only outstanding issue was the stormwater system.

The judge said the approach by the City was not sustainable as it was agreed that the completion of the drainage system had no impact on the shopping centre. “The property (the mall) had been occupied for more than a year by the time the applicants had filed this application and the City has been levying its full quota of charges the stormwater drainage system within the boundaries of the shopping centre has also been completed.”

The judge said the City could not withhold the certificate simply because of inadequacies in its drainage system for the area.

By: ZELDA VENTER: IOL News