An elderly Phoenix widow was robbed this week by two Indian women posing as employees of an insurance company.
The women, dressed in burqa (a garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face) allegedly carried a file and a basket with fruit and chocolate for the 74-year-old grandmother. They claimed that they needed to sign a policy document that was for the widow's late husband.
The women allegedly put a cloth over the widow's face and rough handled her. They made off with a large amount of valuables, including AMC pots, jewellery, sarees and cash.
The widow's daughter, Marlene Naidoo, said she was just glad that her mother was not injured or killed. She said her father died in November last year.
"Those women came on the pretence of signing documents. My mother asked them to contact me and they then claimed that I had asked them to come to the house. At the time of their arrival my uncle and a neighbour were visiting my mum. The neighbour made tea for the women. My uncle and the neighbour then left.
"After they left, these women began stealing. They seemed to have known what valuables were in the house and where they were kept. They forced my mother to open the safe," said Naidoo.
She said the women left her mother outside her home in the Sunford area and locked the house and took all the keys and remotes.
"My mother screamed to the neighbour for help. When I got to my mother she was confused and disorientated, almost as if she had been given something. My mother is most upset that they stole her sacred Thali which my late dad had tied for her on their wedding day.
"Those women took advantage of an old, vulnerable, frail woman. They were extremely calculated and professional in what they did. They even took the tea cups which were offered to them with tea. Communities, especially the elderly need to be more vigilant and not allow any unknown persons into their property. There are too many scam artists preying on the elderly and unsuspecting," said Naidoo.
Colonel Robert Netshiunda, police spokesperson, said Phoenix police were investigating a case of theft which reportedly happened at a house in Sunford, Phoenix on Wednesday.
“No arrests have been made as yet,” said Netshiunda.
Sunday Tribune
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