According to a departmental lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Department of Biochemistry, prof Marina Rautenbach, the bayley of many buildings is where the aircon is mainly supposed to go in, now it can be used as the break-in entry point into offices. PHOTO: Supplied/Marina Rautenbach.
Stellenbosch SAPS is currently investigating a break-in at Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Department of Biochemistry, during the evening of 30 August.
This was according to prof Marina Rautenbach, a lecturer at the department.
The perpetrators gained entry through Rautenbach’s office.
“Stolen items included my work laptop, a backup laptop – which was used for students in the labs – and several hard drives,” said Rautenbach.
According to Rautenbach, the hard drives that were stolen stored about 30 years of research on them.
It is still unclear how many individuals were involved in the break-in, Rautenbach told MatieMedia.
When current biochemistry master’s student Craig October headed back downstairs to the tissue culture room, he noticed that prof Rautenbach’s door was slightly open, he said. PHOTO: Supplied/Marina Rautenbach.
Current biochemistry master’s student, Craig October, was first at the scene and reported it to Campus Security. Campus Security arrived shortly after being notified.
According to Rautenbach, October went to the department to feed his cell cultures.
“I entered the building at around 19:15. I needed to check if my cells were alright, or if they needed to be refreshed with fresh media,” said October.
According to October, he noticed that Rautenbach’s office door was left open and suspected that this was unusual activity. October proceeded to call technical staff and was told to leave everything and report to Campus Security immediately, he said.
“I got a WhatsApp from one of our technical staff, saying one of the students phoned him and saw that my office was open and inquired if I was there,” said Rautenbach.
The department’s safety officer, Kerneels Botha, explained that Campus Security responded to the matter quickly and also made Stellenbosch SAPS aware of the incident.
Botha said the burglars also tried to “get to the other offices but were unable to”.
Stellenbosch SAPS were not able to respond to MatieMedia at the time of publication.
Although the department has not returned to full capacity, the impact of such activities affect the general overview and motivation of students, according to prof Marina Rautenbach. PHOTO: Supplied/Marina Rautenbach.