Guard killed in copper theft drama

By Chanel September
15 February 2007

A scuffle that broke out between a security guard and a copper cable thief left one dead and another seriously injured.

The drama unfolded when the two guards discovered a man trying to saw a piece of underground copper cable. When the guards apprehended him, the man fled the scene. They gave chase and one of the guards caught up with the thief 400m down the road.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a site in Mosselbank Street in Kraafontien.

The copper thief pulled out a knife and stabbed the guard three times in the chest. He died on the scene. The other guard sustained injuries to the face and was taken to a nearby hospital.

City spokesperson Pieter van Dalen says the incident raised the stakes in the city’s escalating war against copper cable thieves.