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Durban – A dog was shot dead during an uMhlanga robbery, a mom and her daughters were attacked while hiking in Port Edward and the staff of a restaurant on the South Coast were robbed in a weekend of crime in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the first incident in uMhlanga, Jean and Athol Domoney had their house ransacked after their beloved five-year-old boxer, Max, was shot dead by intruders. The couple were made to sit on the kitchen floor, with one of the robbers pointing a gun at them while his accomplices searched for valuables.
“Everything else can be replaced but not our dog,” a heartbroken Jean said on Monday.
Last week, The Mercury reported that a Waterfall widow’s two dogs had been poisoned when she was attacked and robbed of her husband’s ashes.
In a second incident at the weekend, the staff of Ocean Basket at the Galleria shopping mall in eManzimtoti on the South Coast were robbed of their valuables and the restaurant’s takings on Sunday night.
The incident comes just two weeks after three armed men robbed the Diamond Circle jewellery store in the mall.
On Monday, Ocean Basket’s senior manager Andre Johan said that he and three waiters had been cashing up, preparing to lock up, when two armed men stormed in.
Johan said he recognised the robbers on CCTV footage and the police had been told their identities.
George Snodey, a volunteer with the Community Crime Prevention Organisation, said residents were worried about the “out of control” crime and urged the police to conduct regular foot patrols.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said the eManzimtoti police were investigating a case of business robbery but no arrests had been made.
In a third incident, a 57-year Pretoria woman was hit over the head and her two daughters, of 19 and 21, hit on their hands and robbed while hiking near Port Edward.
The three women had been on an unguided trail hike.
Natalie Abbott, owner of Clearwater Hiking Trails, said: “The men were not armed, they just had a tree branch to push the mother and the two girls to the ground. The mother was severely assaulted. Their cellphones and other valuables were stolen and they couldn’t contact us, but fortunately a young cyclist on the trail called us on their behalf,” she said.
The women were taken to the Margate Hospital.
The Mercury
