AN ALERT MESSAGE FOR WESTERN CAPE FANS. Or maybe for all Provinces. Voice of the Cape Radio Con uses VOC name: The public is urged to report a con-artist, persistently targeting Muslim businesses in the city. Using the pseudonym ‘Aisha’, the woman, who VOC News has received numerous complaints about, has been contacting various businesses, asking for financial help to bury a child. She also claims to be the wife of a prominent imam. On Tuesday afternoon, VOC News was alerted to reports that ‘Aisha’ had been collecting on behalf of the radio station. Shaif Rai from Food Asia in the CBD said he gave her money on two occasions, but never suspected a thing. “She called me twice, about her baby being sick and then her baby dying. She was crying on the phone and I felt sorry for her,” he said. It was the third time, when she declared that she was phoning from VOC, that Rai grew suspicious. “I realised then that VOC would not call somebody to collect funds like that. Something just didn’t seem right this time…” The station expressed concern at the incident, urging individuals not to part with their money. “It’s not VOC’s policy to send out collectors to collect funds for any of the station’s causes. Our approach is via radio and we have allocated bank accounts for any of our projects,” said the station’s management. On Monday, a woman in niqab did her rounds in Canal Walk, pretending to be the wife of VOC staff member, Maulana Aslam Cassiem, who officiates at the shopping mall’s salah khana. It is unclear if this is the same woman, but reports were that the charlatan collected R2,000. Shop owners and salespeople at the mall have been urged to be on the look out for her. Last month, Imam Moutie Saban distanced himself from ‘Aisha’, who had pretended to be his wife and used his surname to solicit money from members of the community. She appealed to donors for R750 for the purpose of burying a child, at the request of the alim. VOC reporters tried tracing the collector, but to no avail. Individuals who come into contact with ‘Aisha’ are urged to report her to police. VOC (Tasneem Adams)
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 18:37:13 +0000
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