Johannesburg, June 13 (DPA) A television crew from New Zealand have become the latest victims of a spate of robberies targeting foreign journalists covering the World Cup in South Africa.
The team said they were robbed at their FIFA-approved Sparkling Waters hotel in the north-western city of Rustenburg of equipment worth 100,000 dollars.
A reporter and a cameraman from TV New Zealand were having dinner in their hotel when robbers smashed down the door to their bedroom and cleaned them out Friday evening.
The police Sunday morning could not confirm the incident.
A spokesman for the World Cup local organizing body, Rich Mkhondo, said he had no information on the incident and referred the matter to police for comment
The incident is the latest in a spate of robberies involving journalists covering the month-long tournament.
On Friday evening, a special World Cup court in Soweto township sentenced two men to 15 years in prison for robbing two Portuguese and one Spanish journalist of equipment at their lodge in Magaliesburg, also near Rustenburg. A third man received a four-year term for receiving stolen goods.
‘Now this is what we have been echoing: that we will act with swiftness on any criminality,’ Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said after the men’s lightning-fast arrest, conviction and sentencing.
Elsewhere, four Chinese journalists were also robbed by armed men of equipment and cash after pulling over in their car while driving in Johannesburg earlier in the week, Chinese media reported.
Two of the teams participating in the World Cup – Uruguay and Greece – have also fallen foul of criminals, as have a number of fans.
Thieves stole 12,000 dollars in cash from two Uruguayan squad members while the team were playing against France on Friday evening in Cape Town, Uruguayan media reported Saturday.
South African police said surveillance cameras cast suspicion on a member of the Uruguayan delegation but the president of Uruguay’s national football federation Sebastian Bauza rejected the allegation. The team did not report the matter to police.
Thieves also struck at the hotel of the Greek team in Durban on Tuesday, making off with a sum of foreign currency, City Press newspaper reported.
