A Vaitele family has voiced concerns that homeowners could end up taking drastic action if they catch thieves who have been becoming an issue in the area after their home was broken into and $5,000 worth of items were stolen.

Local business owner, Alex Ah Tong said he is extremely concerned that one of these days, someone could be killed when they are caught in the act.

“One of the main concerns is the possibility that the owners of these homes may eventually cause serious harm to someone is one of my worries over the rising frequency of break-ins and burglaries," he said during an interview with the Samoa Observer. 

"That is one of the dangers of all these crimes. The sad thing is that the numbers continue to grow and more people are having their homes broken into and all of that goes hand in hand with domestic violence and all these other things. We talk about these things a lot, but we never do them or act on them.

The thieves took off with a laptop, brand new JBL speaker, and other electronic gadgets valued at $5,000. The cost does not include the damage they inflicted on the property and the equipment including security cameras.

“I noticed something was wrong when a notification popped up on my phone that our home security camera had been turned off," he said.

This was around 10:30 am on Monday when Mr. Ah Tong was already at work. He immediately rushed back to his house and found that the thieves had already taken off.

 “I thought no it can’t be. I was hoping they hadn’t gotten in the house but as soon as I opened the door, all our grocery shopping that I just bought before leaving the house was gone and two of my living-room security cameras were shattered all over the floor.

“We have two newly built houses in our quarter acre land and they tried breaking into our other house but only the screen wire was damaged as they couldn’t get into it and there they made a move on our house.

Mr. Ah Tong complained to the Police earlier and provided them with photos and footage.

Emma Ah Tong, Mr. Ah Tong's wife took to social media to try and solicit help in getting information on the perpetrators. She said a couple of people have reached out to her confirming that one of the thieves is an ex-convict.

"A couple of friends on Facebootok messaged me regarding one of the burglars. They said he is an ex-convict and lives around the area. I hope that this will be resolved soon," she said.

"This is not the first time a burglary occurred in the Vaitele area.

“There is a certain level of rage that goes along with it, and if someone is easily enraged, they will probably act quickly to damage those who have offended them. I don't want to waste my time and go down that road."

The concerned Vaitele residents highlighted that the Police should do more patrols around the area and for people to be alert.

"People need to be vigilant and we urge for more Police patrol around the area," she said.

“There is so much disrespect and the sense of entitlement that a lot of our young people have. I don’t know how they were raised; I think it’s one of the things that society has to answer for – it’s the upbringing of our people."

“I am very conscious of it; these generations were not born out of nothing, they were born and raised by people like us, so it is how we raise the young generation that they come out and think that they have these entitlements.”

Mrs. Ah Tong added that there seems to be a lot of resentment as well as some people who see others who have the things they don’t have.

“My advice is if you want to make it on your own, go get it on your own with your strength and capabilities,” she said.

“But don’t expect to get something from doing nothing and think that you can live off everyone."

Attempts to get a comment from the Police were unsuccessful.