Oh wow! One for the good guys. Well done everybody!
January 16 2007 at 10:55AM
By Sharlene Packree
A robber got more than he bargained for when police and good Samaritans banded together to stop him in his tracks. The man came up against two things that he had no answer to on Monday - public anger with everyday crime and a dedicated cop doing the job he's paid to do. For Yasmin Sayed, the brave act by total strangers has restored her faith in humanity.
Public anger with everyday crime
She will never forget the kindness of four strangers who, in an unusual display of bravery, chased after a man who stole her handbag. Sayed was a passenger in a car driven by her son when a smash and grab attacker struck on Durban's Victoria Embankment.
"I bent over to pick up my bag when a man appeared at the window. I heard a smashing sound and realised that the man was after my bag," she said. The traumatised Sayed, an accounts clerk, said that even though she was disorientated, she saw two men leave their cars and chase after the suspect. The daring motorists left their cars idling in the street in rush hour traffic and they ran after the suspect with the stolen bag. "I saw them run after the man who took my bag. I think they chased him into Albert Park. It all happened so quickly that it was hard to keep track of everything," she said. Meanwhile, Metro police's Sgt Ricky Subramoney, who was on his way to work in his private vehicle, saw the commotion and called for back-up."I saw this vehicle parked on the road with a distressed woman standing outside. "I also noticed two men with guns and it appeared that they were chasing after someone," he said. Subramoney said he then saw a man running away from the men with something tucked under his shirt.Subramoney approached the man, who dropped the bag, before running away from him. "I stopped and approached the man who had a black handbag under his shirt. "He said that the suspect fled into Albert Park but a couple walking in the park noticed the suspect and tried to apprehend him."The couple had been on their way to work when they encountered the suspect. "They sprayed pepper spray into his eyes which prevented him from running further. "He said that it seemed that everyone was trying to capture the suspect. "It's amazing how total strangers banded together to help someone. It gives you goose bumps to know that people still care."Sayed said: "I just wanted thank all those kind people who helped me this morning. "I'm extremely grateful and now believe that good people do exist."A suspect is expected to appear in court on Wednesday
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