By Georgia Westgarth
RICK Maaskant can’t watch television tonight – because thieves stole his TV remotes.
Thieves stole his spare keys, his Mazda MX5 and his Hyundai, which they pinched twice – even from another nearby address.
They stole his wallet and then came back again and left with his TV remote controls.
And they’ve ransacked Mr Maaskant’s home several times, left him fearful for his own safety and extensively damaged his back door.
These “mongrels” have destroyed Mr Maaskant’s life in just two weeks.
“I had the spare sets of keys sitting in the same drawer for six years and didn’t think anything of it,” he told The News.
Mr Maaskant has lived in his Cranbourne North home for eight years, “without any problems.”
Now he says he braces himself every time he returns home – expecting his house to have been burnt down.
The extent to which Mr Maaskant has been followed and targeted is shocking.
On the afternoon of Monday 29 August Mr Maaskant came home to a house raided by thieves and his beloved sports car gone.
“All the rooms were turned upside down looking for the keys,” he said.
“It was a really beautiful car, I paid a lot of money for it.”
Police advised Mr Maaskant to park his Hyundai at another location because the offenders would be back for it.
“So I parked it in a friend’s driveway nearby but they found it – at 9pm on Monday it was gone.”
Mr Maaskant used his Hyundai for work purposes and had to get a hire car to work out of, but police recovered his Hyundai with buckled wheels, dumped on the side of the road, days later.
“I put two new tyres on it and a steering lock and when I went to take the hire car back the Hyundai got stolen again – with the steering lock on,” Mr Maaskant said.
“They think they own it now, because they have the keys.”
The Hyundai was then found a few streets away on Friday 2 September, with the steering lock on and is currently in police possession.
However thieves still have the spare set of keys, and the MX5 has not been recovered.
Mr Maaskant is currently negotiating with his bank and insurance company.
Thieves stole his wallet on Monday 5 September and his TV remote controls on Tuesday 6 September, while he was out.
“I forgot about my wallet, with everything that has been going on and they found it and have spent $300 at around 11 shops,” he said.
“It never ends, it never ends – now I can’t even run my business because I don’t have a car.
“Every time I leave here when I come back someone has been inside – how do you feel after that?”
Mr Maaskant said a few months ago number plates were stolen in the area.
