(Stefanie) Huisgenoot photographer robbed There was CCTV footage of the men as it happened right outside the Stay Easy hotel. Tereasa Ferrari | 15 July 2014 09:01 Two men have been arrested after they allegedly stole camera equipment from a photographer for Huisgenoot who was covering the Innibos festival. According to Mr Jacques Meiring the photographer was stranded on the side of the road on Friday morning when two men approached to help him with his vehicle. Photographer Mr Martin de Kock said he was coming back from Innibos when his vehicle broke down on the side of the road about 500 meters from the Stay Easy hotel where he was staying for the night. “Two decent looking men came from the direction of the casino and offered to help me. The man named Weston asked me to open my bonnet, his friend then turned and said they need plyers so I opened my boot to see if I had one on me. He must have seen my camera equipment then.” De Kock said he didnt have plyers in the boot so he closed it and they all moved towards the security guard by the hotel entrance. He said the one man then drove away and when he got to the guard and as talking to him, he turned around, to see the other suspect had vanished. “I then got an uneasy feeling even though my car was in visible sight all the time. I ran and opened the boot and saw my camera equipment that is valued at around R150 000 was gone.” Meiring stated that there was CCTV footage of the men as it happened right outside the Stay Easy hotel. He said when the two supposed samaritans left the photographer, they were called in to assist him. He said they had the men identified by the footage as two well known locals by the names of Ulrich and Weston. Meiring then stated that on Saturday they set up a sting operation when the men tried to sell the camera equipment to a buyer. “We confirmed they had the equipment when they sent a photo of the camera to the alleged buyer. We also showed Martin to make sure it was his.” “We then tried to lure them to Sonpark but they never arrived and found out they were on their way to Lydenburg.” He said they then tried to negotiate with the men to return the equipment on the basis that the photographer would drop the charges against them but to no avail. Meiring said he handed over the information to the SAPS whose detectives arrested the one suspect on the Hazyview road. “The other suspect must have heard his accomplice was arrested as he went to the local police station and handed himself over.” The two suspects are expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate court shortly
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 17:22:34 +0000