Victims of safety deposit box heists left traumatised and despondent
Is the theft of so-called safety deposit boxes from banks as rare an occurrence as the industry would have us believe? It has emerged that‚ in September 2015‚ thieves broke into First National Bank’s Sunnyside branch and made off with safety deposit boxes that have never been recovered. With the much-publicised thefts of safety deposit boxes from the bank’s Randburg branch on December 18 and the Parktown branch on New Year’s Eve‚ that is three in 15 months. Only now have the Sunnyside victims begun to emerge‚ telling their heartbreaking stories for the first time. That is thanks mainly to the fact that the most recent victims have banded together on social media forums to share their stories and strategise on ways to take on the bank for being negligent in failing to secure their prized possessions adequately. "My box was taken from Sunnyside‚" said "Lori" on the WhatsApp group. "I have not been able to trace anyone else that has lost their box in that theft. The bank is not interes...
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