Kimberly robbers hush baby, thank family before fleeing

A group of robbers who held up a couple, their children and a farm worker near Kimberley thanked the family for their co-operation before fleeing.

They told the family they should understand the robbery was their way of earning money, the same way the couple earned money from farming Die Volksblad newspaper reported.

Gerhard Karsten, 38, his wife, three children, aged between 11 and one, and a farm worker, were locked up in one of the rooms in the farmhouse.

Everybody was tied except the two toddlers, aged one and two.

The newspaper reported that one of the robbers carried the one-year-old baby on his hip when the girl started crying and calmed her.

The robbers confronted the Karstens with two hand guns outside the house at 8.30pm on Sunday.

They told the family it was a robbery and they would not hurt the family if they cooperated.

According to the report one of the robbers was aggressive and kicked Karsten, while another was friendly. His wife was nevertheless threatened while forced to hand over jewellery.

The robbers fled with the cash, jewellery, cellphones and one of the family's vehicles.

“My advice to people in such a situation is not to be difficult and not to play the hero,” Karsten was quoted as saying.

He said if the robbers felt alarmed, they would have shot them.