Home invasion

By Nicole Williams
The elderly woman was woken by a female intruder at 3am and was then tied up and gagged with her own clothing as the woman raided her Cleeland Street home.
Detective Senior Constable Kaine Pawson of the Greater Dandenong Crime Investigation Unit said the intruder thoroughly turned over the house and left soon afterwards, taking a significant amount of jewellery, electrical appliances and food items.
Det Sen Const Pawson said she also removed the 83-year-old’s medical alert pendant and ripped the telephone from the wall, making it impossible for her to call for help after the intruder left.
When the woman failed to check-in with the medical alert company, it attempted to contact her.
“The medical alert monitoring company attempted to make contact with the woman but due to the telephone being disconnected, they resorted to contacting family members who attended the address,” Det Sen Const Pawson said.
By the time she was found by worried family members at midday, the elderly woman had managed to free herself from the restraints.
“They located her fairly upset.”
Det Sen Const Pawson said although she was now in good spirits, any emotional trauma would be immeasurable.
“While her physical injuries were not significant, her emotional state following the incident can’t be measured,” he said.
“The lady has a loving and supportive family network and they’re assisting with any emotional trauma she may have.”
“It is a good reminder for those living next door to someone who’s elderly or vulnerable to either get to know them or maintain regular contact.”
Police arrested and charged a 31-year-old Dandenong woman with aggravated burglary, theft and false imprisonment on Saturday.
“After thorough examination of the scene as well as experienced knowledge of the Police Service Area, we were able to quickly determine a suspect in the matter,” Det Sen Const Pawson said.
The woman appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday and will appear again on 3 October.
She has made no application for bail.
Police returned a significant amount of the stolen property to the pensioner on Tuesday and Det Sen Const Pawson said she was especially pleased to see the return of her television.
If anyone has any further information about the incident, they are encouraged to contact Det Sen Const Pawson at Dandenong CIU on 9767 7487.