A case of kidnapping, robbery and cybercrime fraud has been opened by the police after a Bloemfontein man (53) was held captive in a guesthouse room for hours and robbed of more than R17 000.
The man, whose identity is known to Bloem News but who prefers that his name not be mentioned, had a business appointment at a guesthouse in Paul Kruger Avenue, Universitas, on 22 June.
A potential client had suggested this as a place for them to meet. The woman knew his name and was familiar with his business. They talked at a table outside one of the rooms and she served him coffee.
There were three unknown men in the room.
They then forced him to call the bank so that they could have access to his banking app, as this was coincidently blocked at the time. They also forced him to call a friend and request this person to send him R2 000 to an e-wallet.
One suspect kept holding the knife close to the victim’s throat.
The men took his wallet and one of them went out to draw his money at a nearby shopping centre. On his return, they packed their bags and used the victim’s clothes to bind his legs and arms together more tightly. They told him to wait ten minutes before leaving the room.
The victim managed to free himself and left the room around 21:00.
In the end, the suspects had drawn a total of R9 000 from the victim’s account at an ATM; bought airtime of R700; spent R5 726 at a bottle store; and had taken the R2 000 from the e-wallet. They also took the victim’s cellphone and bank card.
