Beware of pipe skelms
STRIPPED: Fowzia Veerasamy shows pype STRIPPED: Fowzia Veerasamy shows pype
Slim skelms are duping pensioners into believing they are City of Cape Town contractors and then stealing their water meters and copper pipes.
Ou mense living in the Gatesville flats along Yusuf Gool Boulevard became suspicious last week and called the Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch who chased the three men but the I got away.
A 60-year-old ouma, who asked not to be named, says on Wednesday afternoon, three men wearing green bibs arrived at Topaz Court.
“I just heard the banging and when I looked through the window, I saw them,” she explains.
“The one is cripple, the one is light of complexion and the other one is brown. They told me they work for the DA and the City sent them there to take the meters out.
“I told them that we weren’t given any notice of this and then I thought, no man, something is not right, and started skelling with them because I remember they were here in a bakkie before, looking around.”
GNW chairperson Fowzia Veerasamy arrived at the court at 1.30pm to question the men.
“I got there and caught them red-handed taking out the meters and the copper pipes and replacing it with a plastic pipe,” she says.
TARGET: Fowzia says three block of flats in the area have been hit
“I checked with the councillor and he said they did not send them here and we were skelling and then they just left. I couldn’t stop them on my own but I reported them to police.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says the matter is being investigated but says no arrests have yet been made.
Fowzia showed Daily Voice several flats at Pearl, Topaz and Rubi courts which have been hit by the thieves.
“The pipes are already leaking. They are targeting these courts because this is where the most pensioners live.”
Ward councillor Aslam Cassiem says theft of water meters has also been reported in Rylands and Surrey Estate where the three men have been spotted.
“It appears that one of the men’s mothers is a City contractor and these laaities saw a gap. They are not real workers and this has been going on for months,” he says.