Special tricycle stolen from polio patient - Winnipeg Canada

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Specialized tricycle stolen from mobility-impaired owner
CTV News
Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada - Winnipeg police are asking for the public's help in finding a stolen tricycle.

Police said the specialized, recumbent tricycle was taken from a home in the Amber Trails area on July 20. It was stored in an attached garage when it was stolen by an unknown number of people.

Officers said it was custom built for its mobility-impaired owner.

Police ask anyone with information to call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.


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Disabled Winnipeg man pleads for return of stolen specialized trike
CBC.ca
A Winnipeg man with a disability is pleading for the return of his Tricycle after it was stolen out of his home in Amber Trails.

"If you took this bike, I'm not sure why," said Sukhjit Johal at a news conference with Winnipeg police on Thursday. "It was just painful, terrible. I was just so sad. I was just thinking, what am I going to do without that bike?"

The custom recumbent tricycle was stolen from Johal's attached garage during the night of July 20, said Winnipeg police. It's black, has three wheels and may still have an orange flag attached to it.

The trike cost about $3,000 when Johal bought it six years ago, he said. Not having the trike means not being able to easily exercise or get around the city.

"This is my happiness, my health you've stolen," he said. "I used the bike for exercise, walking with my wife and my kids, especially when I go to soccer grounds and stuff like that.

"I'm not able to do any of that [anymore]."

Johal said no one else would be able to easily use the bike.

"My disability is polio. When they do customize these bikes, they customize according to your body weight, your length, your arm length, your legs. They design it specially for your disability."

He asked Winnipeggers to keep an eye out for it.

"I would encourage anybody out there, if you see and spot the bike, to just contact the police immediately so I can get it back."

The Winnipeg police major crimes unit is investigating. Anyone with information should call police at 204-986-6219.

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Special tricycle stolen from polio patient
Winnipeg Sun
Police are calling for help in finding a specialized tricycle that was stolen from a man suffering from polio in the Amber Trails area on July 20. The recumbent tricycle was stolen from owner Sukhjit Johal, who lives with poliomyelitis, a crippling infectious disease that has paralyzed his legs. The tricycle is black and may still have an orange flag attached to it, and was stolen out of Johal’s attached garage.

“The tricycle was custom designed and made for Sukhjit, and it’s really of no use to anyone else,” police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said. “I think a lot of these types of crimes are unfortunately, just a crime of opportunity. In fact, I would guess that the thieves have no idea what they have. If it could be dropped off at police headquarters, we’d be glad to take it anonymously. This is senseless, but has a huge impact on the victim.”

Johal says the tricycle is worth $3,000, and it’s more than just a mode of transportation for him.

“It’s made for upper body strength and abdominal exercise,” Johal said. “It gives me physical activity, health, and happiness. When I’m on the bike, it is freedom for me. It can take me to uneven surfaces. Going up and down on curbs is easy. So this takes away the 15 to 20 minutes of exercise that I require daily.”

Now Johal is confined to transportation in a wheelchair, after having this tricycle for six years.

“Hearing that the tricycle was gone was painful and terrible,” Johal said. “I can’t think of what I’m going to do without it.”

Johal’s son’s bike was also stolen at the same time. Police are asking anyone with information about the location of the tricycle to call them at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

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Mobility-challenged man getting new cycle thanks to lightning-quick radio fundraiser
Winnipeg Free Press
A Winnipeg man with polio who had his custom-built tricycle stolen is set to get a new one thanks to a fundraiser organized Friday by local radio personalities.

In just two hours, the fundraiser reached and surpassed the goal of $3,500 needed to replace the recumbent trike.

Amber Trails resident Sukhjit Johal, 43, said the overnight theft from his garage in July robbed him of both his happiness and his health.

After Johal and Winnipeg police made a public plea for hand-pedalled cycle Thursday, Virgin Radio's Ace Burpee and his colleagues decided to help.

Johal said the bike was an expensive but necessary means for him to get around, and when he wasn't using it he offered it to various charities so other people with mobility issues could try it out.

Burpee said it was a case of the sooner, the better.

"We said 'order it and we'll take care of the rest.'"

Burpee figured the fundraiser would be successful, but didn't anticipate how quickly people would step up to pay for Johal's new ride.

"Every time I hit refresh, a couple hundred bucks more were there," he said.

Johal used the bike — built to his body and weight specifications — for exercise and outings with his wife and children. As a result, it would be of no value to the person who stole it, Const. Rob Carver said.

"We love seeing the great people of Winnipeg come together to help Sukhjit," police said in a tweet shortly after the fundraiser launched. "We will continue to do everything we can to return his bike."

The six-year-old trike is black and may have an orange flag attached.

Anyone with information on its whereabouts is asked to contact police at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

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Polio victim Sukhjit Johal and wife Harjit at Grand Beach in 2013 with the custom tricycle that will stolen from
their Amber Trails home in Winnipeg on July 20, 2017. A GoFundMe campaign took a mere two hours on
Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, to raise the goal of $3,500 for a new custom tricycle for Sukhjit.
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GoFundMe campaign to replace specialized tricycle reaches goal in two hours
Winnipeg Sun
Winnipeggers have long been known as some of the most generous people in the Canada. And they lived up to that title recently.

A GoFundMe campaign took a mere two hours on Friday to raise the goal of $3,500 for a new custom tricycle for Winnipegger Sukhjit Johal, who had his original one stolen from his home in the Amber Trails area on July 20.

The campaign was started by 103.1 Virgin Radio hosts Chrissy Troy and Ace Burpee just a day after Johal had met with police and media on Thursday to put the word out there about his missing recumbent tricycle.

“When I went to the media, it was never meant to get people to Donate to my cause,” Johal said. “I just wanted to put the word out, and hoped the thief would have a change of heart and would bring my bike back to me. And I’m still hoping for that.”

Police said as of Tuesday morning that the bike had not been returned. But people have not let that sink the hopes of Johal and his family, and have left them astounded at the selflessness that was shown.

“We’re so blessed and fortunate to live in such a caring community where we ...


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