Staff Reporter
Free State police say criminals have devised a new tactic in which they pretend to be injured in order to lure motorists to stop and assist them before pouncing on them and robbing them of their motor vehicles.
Acting provincial police commissioner, Major General Solly Lesia, warned motorists to be vigilant and exercise caution before stopping to assist strangers.
“The community is warned to be aware of the emerging trend where hijackers pretend to be injured . . . so as to lure the driver out of the vehicle, then rob him/her of the vehicle,” he said.
Lesia said this after a 30-year-old man was allegedly attacked and lost his car in Rocklands, Bloemfontein, after he was stopped by strangers pretending to need help.
According to the police, the victim was driving along Leepile Street at about 9pm on Saturday when he was stopped by two men claiming someone had been injured and needed help.
The man is said to have seen someone lying on the street and he got out of his car with the intention to assist, leaving his car keys in the ignition.
In that process, someone suddenly appeared from behind him and put a cloth over his mouth.
The man is believed to have lost consciousness as he could not remember what happened next.
“He was later woken up by people who know him. They picked him up from the street and took him home. His vehicle, a silver Polo, 2013 model with registration number FZT 195FS was taken,” the police said in a statement.
No one has been arrested and the police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.