New South African Casino Robbery Involves Children
Thievery and mayhem continue in the world of South African casinos, this time at the Suncoast Casino in Durban. An eleven-year-old boy was accosted at knifepoint by three teenagers while he played in the games arcade adjacent to the casino.
Yasthiel Devraj, whose parents had left him to enjoy video games while they gambled, was surrounded by the three older boys, two flanking him while a third sat next to him and put a knife against his leg. The gang took his cellphone and then fled.
Simmi and Avidh Devraj, the child's parents, were as upset with the response of casino personnel as with the incident itself. When they notified staff of the robbery, they were told the manager was not available at that time, and they were not able to see an official in charge until the next day. "Suncoast security also didn't want to make the effort to apprehend the suspects my son described," said Devraj.
After finally getting an audience with the arcade's manager, the couple was told the incident was not the first in the children's area, and that management had requested signs be posted to advise people of the crime problem. Surveillance footage showed the robbery as the boy had described it, but no further action was taken.
Suncoast marketing manager Robbie Naidoo said the company took the robbery extremely seriously, and that safety of patrons in both the casino and its surroundings was paramount. He stated the property was examining ways to prevent future occurences.
Perhaps the teenagers were merely emulating their heroes, the band of heavily armed men that have been raiding casinos in South Africa for the last few months. A better way to prevent children from being robbed than posting signs might be the hiring of security; except, when the adult gangs have struck, witnesses have said security personnel ran faster than anyone else.
