Camps Bay Neighbourhood - Up To Date

Beggar / con man pulls a knife

An African man, probably in his mid-50s, usually well-dressed in a shabby but smart jacket, shirt, slacks and a hat, with glasses and a full or partial cataract in one eye has once again been doing the rounds in Camps Bay. Originally considered not much more than a harmless con man, lately he has come under suspicion of being a spotter for a gang of housebreakers, and today he went a step further and pulled a knife on one of our residents.

That this man is a con artist is well established. His modus operandi is to approach people in the street or ring their doorbell, claiming that he has been robbed of his rent money and will be evicted if you don’t help him out. Notwithstanding that there are only so many times one man can be robbed of rent money, he has made the mistake of telling one particular resident the same story barely days apart (the first time on the beachfront, the second time via a house intercom where he obviously couldn’t know that he was addressing the same person), despite the same resident having given him more than enough to cover his rent the first time the story was told.

Until recently this person was considered harmless. Lately however suspicion has arisen that he is also operating as a spotter for accomplices looking for empty houses to burgle. Today, when confronted in this regard, the elderly “gentleman” pulled a knife on Carlos Liltved. Luckily Carlos managed to escape injury and was able to get SAPS to arrest him.

If you come across this man, please be aware that (a) he is attempting to con you, and (b) he is capable of violence – please therefore treat him with appropriate caution.