Two visitors also in the house assaulted and robbed

The rising crime wave at the coast has also hit the small coastal settlement Wlotzkasbaken. Five men, armed with knives, recently broke into one of the houses located there. They threatened and beat some of the victims, before disappearing with goods valued at more than N$100 000.

The incident occurred on 26 February, confirmed Deputy Commissioner Ottilie Kashuupulwa, regional crime investigations co-ordinator for Erongo. According to initial reports the five suspects broke into the house between 01:00 and 02:00 in the morning and proceeded to hold the residing couple and their two guests, also a couple, hostage.
“They then robbed the victims of a lot of property, which included wed-ding rings, watches, mobile phones, laptops and much more,” said Kashuupulwa. Before fleeing the scene the suspects cut the victim’s car tyres with knives. “Thus they couldn’t report the incident to the police on time as they had to walk to another resident’s house, where they were assisted to call the police at 03:20 in the morning,” Kashuupulwa continued.
The couple are both 56 years old. Their guests are a couple from Tsumeb. The husband is 35 years old and his wife is 32 years old. “The owners of the house were not physically harmed, however, their guests were beaten. The man was beaten with a bolted fist on the eye while his wife was slapped once in her face,” said Kashuupulwa. The value of the stolen items is estimated at N$121 000.
According to a security officer, who was guarding a nearby house, the suspects were driving a red sedan. The registration number is unknown though. The police is investigating a charge of housebreaking with the intent to rob as well as a charge of robbery. No arrest has been made yet.