Three women have been mugged while shopping at Cresta mall, northern Johannesburg, The Star newspaper reported on Tuesday.
One of the victims was quoted as saying that when she went to report the crime to mall security, she was told there had been 15
similar incidents the same day. Mall security did not however confirm the muggings to the newspaper.
Cheryl Maistry was robbed on a Saturday afternoon inside Jet while shopping with her son and mother-in-law. She said three women surrounded them when they stopped behind a pillar in the store, out of view of the security cameras.
The women demanded their valuables and when Maistry didn't respond one of them allegedly lifted three-year-old Mikael out of the trolley.
“She didn't even need a weapon because she was holding my child,” Maistry was quoted as saying. The two women handed over all their valuables, including their wedding rings. The thieves put down the child and left the store.
At the Checkers store in the mall, 75-year-old Isobel Oxley's purse was stolen from her handbag when a woman asked her to reach for a box of tissues on a shelf.
Both Jet and Checkers confirmed the crimes. - Sapa