New crime trend! Cops say wi-fi detectors used to steal cellphones, laptops from cars

Pretoria - Police believe they have uncovered the reason behind the high number of theft of cellphones and laptops out of cars in the city and anywhere else across the country. Spokesperson Captain Collett Weilbach said criminals were using increasingly sophisticated, directional wi-fi detectors to home in on the laptop or cellphone. This could detect the gadgets from where they had been hidden, be it under the seat of the car or in the boot. Weilbach urged members of the public, particularly motorists, to turn off the wi-fi of laptops and cellphones to avoid opening an invitation to thieves. Police in the Brooklyn area, largely populated by students, as well as Sunnyside and the CBD have reported on an increase in the number of laptops stolen out of motor vehicles. “I parked my car and walked to a restaurant, and all was well. On my return about two hours later, I noticed that one of the rear windows had been smashed. "I checked under the driver’s seat where …
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City of Tshwane: Workers who protested outside the Gauteng High Court are misinformed

THE workers who protested outside the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, over what they perceived to be a delayed justice in their case with the City, were misinformed, municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said. The out-of-work staff and subcontractors were bused in to the court to demand a speedy verdict. The court case concerns the validity of a tender between their employer, Moipone Group of Companies, and the City. The high court heard the case on September 21, but a verdict is still pending. The workers said they supported their employer, who took the City to the high court for refusing to pay for services rendered under a “valid and binding” contract. To showcase their frustrations, they marched from Marabastad to the high court, where they delivered a memorandum to acting court manager Lucky Makumule. The protesters said the City lacked the will to honour its contractual obligations and that had put them out of work since June. They were hoping for a favou…
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Row over occupancy at Jean Crossing Shopping Centre in Centurion

TWO years after the upmarket Jean Crossing Shopping Centre in Centurion opened its doors, it is still battling to obtain a certificate of occupancy from the City. The main dispute between the parties relates to the construction and completion of a main stormwater drainage system that the mall owners had agreed to erect on behalf of the City at an estimated cost of R22million. The City accepted that the physical buildings and all services at the shopping centre had been completed, but it was not willing to issue the final certificate of occupancy as the stormwater drainage system had not been completed. The City said the system - which will serve about 1000 households and numerous businesses around the shopping centre - constituted infrastructure “incidental to the building” (the mall) and it can thus not issue a final certificate. This, while the Jean Crossing Shopping Centre had been occupied since 2015 and the City levying its full quota of rates and taxes, servic…
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