Friday, 11 November 2011

Pump and run

CCTV footage, which shows a con man in Richards Bay on Saturday asking a petrol attendant to fill his tank before fleeing the scene without paying

Several service stations in Richards Bay have fallen prey to what has been described as a case of ‘pump and run’ by an unscrupulous motorist, who speeds off after filling his tank and extra 20 litre containers with petrol.

Since October, there have been several reports of an elderly white man driving a silver Audi A4, who has craftily executed the devious plan by requesting cans of oil while he flees the scene. In the latest incident, the same individual used his signature modus operandi at another local service station in Richards Bay at around 3.45am on Saturday. ‘He filled up his vehicle as well as two containers in the boot. ‘He then asked the petrol attendant for two cans of oil before speeding off. ‘He stole petrol worth R1077. ‘We were alerted of his rip-offs at other service stations but this is the first time it has happened to us,’ said the owner.

The silver Audi A4 was registered under NUF 22794, which turned out to be false plates registered to a Toyota Conquest reportedly owned by an Empangeni motorist, who did not actually own a Conquest. ‘The man is well-built and wore glasses and a cap. ‘His actions were captured on our CCTV camera and it shows him speeding off from the garage and even skipping a red robot at an intersection to get away.’ The matter has been reported to the Richards Bay SAP and is being investigated.