‘Pool acid’ e-mail is a hoax

AN e-mail that freaked out Windhoek residents last week by claiming that ‘a new style of hijacking’ was being used in the capital was a hoax.

This widely circulated e-mail was ostensibly written by one Assistant Superintendent Deirdre Vlooris, an alleged junior forensic investigator at the City Police. There is no such person working at the City Police, an investigation has found.The e-mail claims that hijackers are using pool acid to blind car drivers before stealing their cars.’This acid is kept in a syringe or even a small plastic and then used to blind daze and disorientate the driver of the vehicle. It also assists them with getting away from the scene more readily [sic],’ the e-mail reads.It also claims that one Onesmus Akweenda has been a victim of this ‘far more horrific than ever’ new hijacking style.City Police spokesman Marx Hipandwa says no such case has been reported to the Police.People should be on the alert in any case, he says, since some criminals may decide to try out the method given in the hoax e-mail.

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