Suspect in court for theft of vehicle from the parking lot of a shopping centre in Pretoria

A 40 year old man appeared in the Bela Bela Magistrates’ Court on a charge of possession of a suspected stolen vehicle, after he was found hiding a vehicle which was stolen from the parking lot of a shopping centre in Pretoria last year.

The suspect, Cornelius Jansen van Rensburg was arrested over the weekend after police members followed up information about a Toyoya Hilux double cab which was hidden in a shack at the Donosa informal settlement just outside Bela Bela. The vehicle was recovered and when circulated it was found to have been stolen from the Sinoville Mall where it was parked in the parking lot during October last year.

The case against the suspect was remanded to 26 January 2014 for further investigation – he was not released on bail and will remain behind bars until his next court appearance.

Investigations to determine whether the suspect might be involved in more cases of vehicle theft are currently underway.

Suspect in court for theft of vehicle from the parking lot of a shopping centre in Pretoria

On-line Shopping Tax: Yes or no?

A new report by the Institute of Public Affairs (No to the GST attack: Why the exemption for on the web purchases have to stay), argues that placing a GST on low-value imports will not support Australian retailing, and will only succeed in making Australians pay much more when purchasing on the internet.

What’s the proposal?

Australia has a goods and services tax (GST) of 10% on most goods and solutions sold or consumed in Australia.  There are a few exemptions to the GST, including education and fresh food – although that might modify more than the subsequent couple of years.

Yet another current exemption is on items bought overseas for a total worth of significantly less than $ 1,000. This exemption has been extremely contentious and various retail groups have named for the GST to apply to all items purchased from overseas.

Who wants GST to apply to low-worth overseas purchases?

Several retailers want the GST to apply to low-value overseas purchases. The Australian National Retailers’ Association, for instance, have called for a level playing field, with ANRA CEO Margy Osmond saying: “This quirk in the GST mechanism signifies revenue that need to be discovering its way to State coffers for much needed community services, is subsidising foreign organizations. Australians currently pay GST on goods bought locally on-line or in-shop. Fixing this $ 1,000) loophole recognises how significantly retail is changing.”

On the other hand…

According to the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), there are numerous crucial drivers of higher retail expenses in Australia, including a extremely regulated labour industry, severe land use restrictions, and trading hour conditions, and putting a GST on reduced-value overseas purchases would do little to stem our collective enthusiasm for getting on the web from overseas retailers.

To quote the IPA report: “Other things getting equal, imposing the GST on imported products valued at $ 1,000 or much less may encourage some buyers to switch from overseas to domestic buying possibilities, but a comparison of selective popular sales things would recommend that a GST on low-value imports would, by no signifies, dissipate the price tag benefits presently enjoyed by overseas retailers.

Would it boost government revenue?

Helping to level the playing field for domestic retailers is a single thing, but the other essential consideration is whether imposing a 10% GST on low-value overseas purchases would truly enhance the government coffers after the cost of collecting the revenue was taken into account.

The answer to that a single? The jury is still out. In 2011 the Productivity Commission published a report noting that there had been powerful in principle grounds for the Low Worth Threshold to be lowered significantly, but that it shouldn’t occur till it was expense efficient to do so. The Productivity Commission report noted that at that time, there had been about 58 million international parcels beneath the $ 1000 threshold arriving in Australia each year. Based on then-obtainable information, the Commission estimated that with existing parcel volumes and processing expenses, removal of the LVT would produce revenue of around $ 600 million at a price of nicely over $ 2 billion borne by businesses customers and government. It does not really sound like a great deal for anyone…

On-line Shopping Tax: Yes or no?

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres

The incidents of theft out of motor vehicles are staggering with a disturbing increase in cases recently in Bloemfontein as thieves are striking at parking lots in various shopping malls around the City. According to situational analysis it is revealed that most of the incidents are due to negligence and sheer carelessness of some motorists. It has also been noted that an absence of vigilance exists with regard to criminal element that lie in wait.

As a result the police would like to issue warnings to the motorists to be extra careful when locking their vehicles and ensuring that they are in fact properly locked before they walk away. The police have also discovered a new trend and tactic that gives the thieves the opportunity to steal valuables out of various makes and models of vehicles without having to gain entry forcibly. Their modus operandi is that those criminals fool motorists into thinking that they have locked their vehicles simply by pressing the button on a gate remote to block the signal sent simultaneously from the vehicle`s keys by its owner which interferes with the locking mechanism frequency on your vehicle remote and your vehicle do not lock. As soon as you are out of sight, they then help themselves with any valuable items they want from your car without forced entry.

As it is a common knowledge that most people who are having vehicles with remote controls sometimes just press their remotes and turn away without looking or checking whether their vehicles are locked. These criminals are out there waiting and watching when you press your remote to lock your vehicle. They walk around in the parking bays as if they are ordinary people and nobody suspects them.

It is with this that we want to create public awareness so that people make sure that their vehicles are locked regardless of where a vehicle is parked even in the yard, make doubly certain that the central locking system is fully and properly activated, both visually and audibly. If you suspect that someone disturbs you during this procedures report the incident to the nearest police station.

At this stage we have increased police visibility at all identified hotspots and this resulted in arresting number of suspects and this showed that our strategies are paying dividends and therefore appealing to the motorists to start doing their part by protecting their properties.

These types of thefts are regarded as opportunistic crime and to avoid them the motorists are advised to take note of the following safety measures that must be adhered to at all times;

 Make sure that all doors and windows are properly locked when you park your vehicle.
 Motorist to physically ensure that doors are properly locked after activating the alarm.
 Valuable items such as laptops, cameras, cell phones, wallets and handbags should be put in the boot of your vehicle.
 Do not place valuables in the boot whilst people are watching and there is a tendency of suspects breaking rear windows and stealing such properties from the boot.
 At night park at well-lit street.
 Remove detachable radios or radio faces when parking your vehicle
 Parking lots with parking attendant or someone patrolling are the best.

Advice via SAPS

Also view:

Motorists warned of increase in car theft through immobilizer jamming in Johannesburg 

Caution is required to protect from “immobilizer” and “signal jamming” thieves

Vehicle Theft and Car Insurance

;

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres

The incidents of theft out of motor vehicles are staggering with a disturbing increase in cases recently in Bloemfontein as thieves are striking at parking lots in various shopping malls around the City. According to situational analysis it is revealed that most of the incidents are due to negligence and sheer carelessness of some motorists. It has also been noted that an absence of vigilance exists with regard to criminal element that lie in wait.

As a result the police would like to issue warnings to the motorists to be extra careful when locking their vehicles and ensuring that they are in fact properly locked before they walk away. The police have also discovered a new trend and tactic that gives the thieves the opportunity to steal valuables out of various makes and models of vehicles without having to gain entry forcibly. Their modus operandi is that those criminals fool motorists into thinking that they have locked their vehicles simply by pressing the button on a gate remote to block the signal sent simultaneously from the vehicle`s keys by its owner which interferes with the locking mechanism frequency on your vehicle remote and your vehicle do not lock. As soon as you are out of sight, they then help themselves with any valuable items they want from your car without forced entry.

As it is a common knowledge that most people who are having vehicles with remote controls sometimes just press their remotes and turn away without looking or checking whether their vehicles are locked. These criminals are out there waiting and watching when you press your remote to lock your vehicle. They walk around in the parking bays as if they are ordinary people and nobody suspects them.

It is with this that we want to create public awareness so that people make sure that their vehicles are locked regardless of where a vehicle is parked even in the yard, make doubly certain that the central locking system is fully and properly activated, both visually and audibly. If you suspect that someone disturbs you during this procedures report the incident to the nearest police station.

At this stage we have increased police visibility at all identified hotspots and this resulted in arresting number of suspects and this showed that our strategies are paying dividends and therefore appealing to the motorists to start doing their part by protecting their properties.

These types of thefts are regarded as opportunistic crime and to avoid them the motorists are advised to take note of the following safety measures that must be adhered to at all times;

 Make sure that all doors and windows are properly locked when you park your vehicle.
 Motorist to physically ensure that doors are properly locked after activating the alarm.
 Valuable items such as laptops, cameras, cell phones, wallets and handbags should be put in the boot of your vehicle.
 Do not place valuables in the boot whilst people are watching and there is a tendency of suspects breaking rear windows and stealing such properties from the boot.
 At night park at well-lit street.
 Remove detachable radios or radio faces when parking your vehicle
 Parking lots with parking attendant or someone patrolling are the best.

Advice via SAPS

Also view:

Motorists warned of increase in car theft through immobilizer jamming in Johannesburg 

Caution is required to protect from “immobilizer” and “signal jamming” thieves

Vehicle Theft and Car Insurance

;

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres

The incidents of theft out of motor vehicles are staggering with a disturbing increase in cases recently in Bloemfontein as thieves are striking at parking lots in various shopping malls around the City. According to situational analysis it is revealed that most of the incidents are due to negligence and sheer carelessness of some motorists. It has also been noted that an absence of vigilance exists with regard to criminal element that lie in wait.

As a result the police would like to issue warnings to the motorists to be extra careful when locking their vehicles and ensuring that they are in fact properly locked before they walk away. The police have also discovered a new trend and tactic that gives the thieves the opportunity to steal valuables out of various makes and models of vehicles without having to gain entry forcibly. Their modus operandi is that those criminals fool motorists into thinking that they have locked their vehicles simply by pressing the button on a gate remote to block the signal sent simultaneously from the vehicle`s keys by its owner which interferes with the locking mechanism frequency on your vehicle remote and your vehicle do not lock. As soon as you are out of sight, they then help themselves with any valuable items they want from your car without forced entry.

As it is a common knowledge that most people who are having vehicles with remote controls sometimes just press their remotes and turn away without looking or checking whether their vehicles are locked. These criminals are out there waiting and watching when you press your remote to lock your vehicle. They walk around in the parking bays as if they are ordinary people and nobody suspects them.

It is with this that we want to create public awareness so that people make sure that their vehicles are locked regardless of where a vehicle is parked even in the yard, make doubly certain that the central locking system is fully and properly activated, both visually and audibly. If you suspect that someone disturbs you during this procedures report the incident to the nearest police station.

At this stage we have increased police visibility at all identified hotspots and this resulted in arresting number of suspects and this showed that our strategies are paying dividends and therefore appealing to the motorists to start doing their part by protecting their properties.

These types of thefts are regarded as opportunistic crime and to avoid them the motorists are advised to take note of the following safety measures that must be adhered to at all times;

 Make sure that all doors and windows are properly locked when you park your vehicle.
 Motorist to physically ensure that doors are properly locked after activating the alarm.
 Valuable items such as laptops, cameras, cell phones, wallets and handbags should be put in the boot of your vehicle.
 Do not place valuables in the boot whilst people are watching and there is a tendency of suspects breaking rear windows and stealing such properties from the boot.
 At night park at well-lit street.
 Remove detachable radios or radio faces when parking your vehicle
 Parking lots with parking attendant or someone patrolling are the best.

Advice via SAPS

Also view:

Motorists warned of increase in car theft through immobilizer jamming in Johannesburg 

Caution is required to protect from “immobilizer” and “signal jamming” thieves

Vehicle Theft and Car Insurance

;

Motorists advised to guard against theft from vehicles at shopping centres