The Cape Town Central Improvement District’s (CCID’s) security manager, Muneeb Hendricks, chased down and caught a man attempting to mug tourists from Belgium with a knife in the Company’s Garden last week.
Mr Hendricks, who is in charge of the CCID’s 300 public safety officers, was in a CCID vehicle on Monday October 21 doing a routine inspection with colleague Richard Beesley when they noticed a scuffle on Avenue Street, close to Cape Town High School.
The pair, who among them have 30 years’ experience with the CCID, realised immediately something was amiss and sprang into action.
“We realised tourists were being mugged by an armed suspect. As we were rushing to the scene, the suspect fled and we pursued him by car.
“Richard managed to corner him by stopping the car just in front of him. I jumped out, gave chase and used minimum force to apprehend the man with the assistance of security guards in the area. I then contacted the CCID’s safety and security teams to assist.”
The man was arrested by a law enforcement officer and taken to Cape Town Central police station to be charged.
“We advised the two tourists to open a case and they agreed. We arranged for them to be transported to the police station where sergeants Glen Machelm and Ashley Franks helped to open a case of attempted armed robbery because the suspect had a knife on him.”
Mr Hendricks said this was another example of safety partners working together to deal with incidents of crime and “criminals should be warned that they will be caught if they try to commit crime in the CBD”.
He advised locals and tourists to be aware at all times, be sensible, responsible and not create an opportunity for a crime to occur.
Cape Town Central community police forum (CPF) chairperson, Marc Truss, commended the pair for “going above and beyond”.
“It’s good that the pair work so well together. Both of them come from a police background, and it’s wonderful that they exercised that expertise to help out the tourists,” said Mr Truss.
The CapeTowner recently reported that a woman was stabbed to death in the garden after she and two men had tried to rob a couple (“Woman killed in attempted robbery”, CapeTowner, October 10).
Mr Truss said people should be aware of their surroundings and remain vigilant at all times.
“People should keep their guard up. Put away all your belongings and avoid anyone who tries to approach you – everyone is not as innocent as they seem.”
The Cape Town Central police station in partnership with the CCID held a pink awareness safety drive at the Cape Town railway station on Thursday October 24.
Cape Town police spokesperson, Captain Ezra October, said the drive was to sensitise the public to be more aware. They handed out about 9 000 pamphlets providing safety tips.