R25,000 reward for finding Dr Mike Sprenger’s murderers

 

July 10 2009 - Dr Mike Sprenger, a father of three who single-handedly ran a practice for 4,000 patients in the middle- to low-income Rosettenville in greater Johannesburg, was murdered in his consulting rooms on 19 June 2009 – father’s day. A concerned community member in the Booysens Area has now offered a reward of up to R25,000 for any information that will lead to a positive arrest and conviction of the suspects who had been directly connected and responsible for Dr Sprenger's murder. Sprenger is survived by his wife Desire, sons Jason, 11, and Gordon, 9, and daughter Loren, nearly 7. This clearly dedicated doctor could have emigrated with his family years ago as so many other South African doctors have done – he however chose to stay and serve his community.

• Anyone with information can contact D/Insp J Cronje on 082 319 9911. All information will be treated as confidential. reported by: L. van Emmerik, tel. (011) 433 5285, cell: 079 892 9843
• http://www.sapsjournalonline.gov.za/dynamic/journal_dynamic.aspx?pageid=414&jid=16155
• http://www.newsvibe.co.za/external.php?node=94200

High crime area with 95 annual violent deaths…

Rosettenville is located in the Booysen district, which is one of the country’s main violent crime hotspots. In 2007 – according to the last available SAPS crime records – a total of 95 violent deaths were recorded there (48 murders + 47 culpible homicides), as well as 63 attempted murders.   There also were 302 armed robberies of businesses and homes that year during which 1,079 premises were torched and/or otherwise damaged. http://www.saps.gov.za/statistics/reports/crimestats/2008/_provinces/gauteng/pdf/booysens.pdf

Community is heartbroken:

After his murder, scores of bouquets, heartfelt messages and yellow police-issue crime scene cordons decked the metal gates to Prairie Centre in Rosettenville, the medical practice where doctor Sprenger was murdered and his rooms torched. Many people left flowers and messages, some prayed, others sobbed. Booysens police Inspector Lorraine van Emmerick said Sprenger, 55, had been working late on Thursday night when he was attacked in his rooms. He had been alone at the time.

• She said unknown attackers had entered the medical centre and were believed to have stabbed Sprenger to death, before robbing the practice and then setting fire to his rooms. The fire is believed to have been used to cover up what was stolen.

"We were out at about 8pm at the same time as the fire brigade. They put out the flames and then discovered a body, which was taken to the mortuary. An autopsy was conducted on Friday morning, where it was found that Dr Sprenger had been stabbed to death before the rooms were set alight," Van Emmerick said. She said it appeared that the doctor had been working in the dispensary when the attack happened. Detectives have returned to the rooms and painstakingly gone through the charred remains.

• "At this stage, it is still difficult to say what exactly was taken, but we are looking at a robbery of medical equipment and medical supplies," she said, adding that one room had been completely burnt out and other rooms slightly damaged."We are investigating a robbery as there is no evidence to suggest anything else," she said, when asked whether detectives suspected that the murder could have been a ‘crime gang’ hit.

Receptionist Beth Heystek said the medical practice belonged solely to Sprenger, who had recently rented out rooms on the premises to a dentist. He did his own dispensing of medication, hence the presence of a dispensary. She said Sprenger had "about , 000 patients, if not more" coming to his practice.  One distraught woman arrived at Prairie Centre yesterday and sobbed as she left flowers and took down the contact number given for patients wanting funeral details.

"I have been a patient of Dr Sprenger for 18 years. He was not just my doctor, he was like a friend who always had time. He had a beautiful family, their photos were all over, and he was a beautiful man," she said, declining to give her name. "His children are still small, and my heart breaks for them because it's Father's Day today."

A bouquet on the ground held the message: "You will be sadly missed, my friend and our doctor. Rest in peace, Mike. Love, the Soutar family." Another had a personal message of condolence for the bereaved widow and children.

One man pulled up at the centre and jumped out of his car. He stood silently in front of the gate, seemingly in prayer, ignoring the presence of others around him. He got back into his car, where he sat hammering on the steering wheel as he let out anguished screams before driving off. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20090622060634162C978136

Background, Rosettenville community health:

Three-quarters of all the people tested by the Rosettenville community clinics for HIV/Aids are infected. ‘AIDS is running rampant,’  says Vicky Manzini, the operational manager for Malvern and Glenanda clinics. "And it is [affecting] very young people, between 20 and 35 years old. Three quarters of people we test end up being positive," Manzini says. the people in the suburb hail from all over the continent. Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe http://joburgnews.co.za/2007/mar/mar20_rosettenville.stm