Cape Town – A Factreton father has been hailed a hero for catching a thief who robbed a young woman.
The arrest was caught on camera, showing a brave Auden Hector, 37, tackling the mugger to the ground and recovering the woman’s handbag containing her cellphone and purse.
The video of the incident has gone viral on social media and has been shared more than 7000 times with residents applauding his efforts.
The brave dad says he was on his way to fetch his son from school on Friday and noticed the thief frantically rummaging through a woman’s bag on 16th Avenue.
“As I turned into Dappe Road, I saw this young woman and she was running and appeared distraught,” he explains.
“I asked her if she knows him and she said no and then I realised he had robbed her.
“I shouted at him to stop and made as if I had a gun and I saw his eyes go big in his head when he realised he was caught.”
In the video, the thief is heard apologising for his actions as residents jump in to hold him down.
“I am sorry, my brother. I am sorry, people, I am a criminal, I won’t do it again,” he pleads.
Auden and two other men are seen loading the thief in his car while the woman appears reluctant to get in the car, and Auden is heard saying: “Come get in the car girl, don’t you worry. Kyk hoe lyk sy, sy is bang, my bru (Look at the state she is in, she is scared, my brother).
“I am sick and tired of this rubbish. The police don’t want to do it, so we must do it ourselves, we must fight crime in our area.”
The brazen thief is then marched into Kensington Police Station where he was turned in.
Auden says he left the station to collect his son at school and when he later returned to give his statement, he was told the woman had opted not to open a case and the thief was set free.
“I didn’t expect the video to go viral. I am a man of God and a born-again believer,” the reluctant hero says.
“I used to take drugs, was part of a gang and used to rob people. I know the damage I had done and while I changed my life a few years ago, I saw this as a way of giving back and fixing my wrongs.
“I did what any decent man would have done.”
The father of three says despite obtaining a degree in language, communications and industrial psychology, he has been sukkeling to find work.
“I started a tourism business in January to support my three sons doing tours, but with the lockdown, it didn’t take off,” he says.
Daily Voice