Leuven (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): A statue of former mayor Frederic Lints was stolen from his grave part of ongoing thefts at a cemetery. Community leaders emphasize the emotional damage and urge for better protection.
Over the weekend someone stole the statue of Frederic Lints a former mayor from his grave. This was part of a series of thefts in the cemetery where they took plaques and other items made of copper and bronze. The cemetery staff found out about the theft when they checked the graves and saw that many memorials were damaged and missing. People are really worried about the thefts at the cemetery and thought that how they can keep historical and memorial things safe. The police are looking into what happened to find the stolen items and make sure it doesn’t happen again.It has been said that the community is upset about the damage to these important places that mean a lot to them emotionally and historically.
How can people protect graves from ongoing cemetery thefts?
Alderman Bieke Verlinden from the Vooruit party says it’s really important to protect graves that families have forever. These graves mean a lot to the families showing their love and respect for their relatives. Verlinden thinks it’s crucial to keep these graves safe because even small changes like moving a flower can be very upsetting for the families.
He mentioned that the police are working hard to figure out where these thieves are based. Verlinden says that people stealing copper from cemeteries is a problem that keeps happening like in Antwerp. She thinks the same group of criminals might be behind these thefts too. The thieves are taking copper plates from graves by unscrewing them forcefully showing they are doing it on purpose. Verlinden thinks the thieves probably used a crowbar to remove the copper plates from the graves. This way of stealing not only needs a lot of strength but also makes the families very upset. The damage and sadness caused by these acts not only affect the money side but also hurt the feelings of those who care a lot about these graves.
