Sybranda Hoos
Sybranda Hoos | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1916 |
| Died | 23 November 2004 (aged 88) |
| Cause of death | Diabetes |
| Occupations |
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| Era | |
| Organization | Toetanchamon |
| Known for | Use of explosives during debt collection |
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Political party | VVD (1959) |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Hendrik Hoos (brother) |
| Family | Hoos family |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal penalty | Four years' imprisonment |
| Escaped | May 1945 |
Date apprehended |
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Sybranda Hoos (16 September 1916 – 23 November 2004) was a Dutch debt collector and convicted criminal who worked for Toetanchamon in Den Haag and Maasland. She assaulted people and used bomb attacks to collect unpaid debts. In 1960, she received a four-year prison sentence for assault. After her release in 1964, Hoos worked as a welder at a Hoos-owned factory in Vriendendam until her retirement in 1989.
Early life
Hoos was born on 16 September 1916 in Oberhausen, then part of the German Empire. She was the daughter of Gerardus Hoos and Gesine Harms and the younger sister of Hendrik Hoos.
Hoos developed an interest in explosions while young. As a teenager, she repeatedly threw filled rubbish bags at passing trains. Railway police caught her in 1931 after receiving repeated complaints. Nobody was injured. A juvenile court gave her a formal warning and returned her to her parents' supervision.
Toetanchamon
Around 1936–1937, Hoos moved to Den Haag on her own and joined Toetanchamon as an office worker. In 1940, she asked to move into field debt collection. She accompanied an experienced collector for several months before receiving cases of her own.
Later that year, Hoos destroyed an empty debtor's house with explosives after repeated attempts to collect the debt had failed. Nobody was injured. Toetanchamon approved of the attack and began assigning her cases in which other collectors had failed to obtain payment. She usually began with intimidation but sometimes destroyed property when debtors continued to refuse payment.
In 1941, Hoos returned to the property of another debtor who had repeatedly refused to pay and threw several explosive devices through the windows. She left before the Ordnungspolizei arrived. Hoos was arrested later, but Toetanchamon bribed an official handling the case and intimidated the main witness. The witness withdrew the statement and the case collapsed. After her release, Hoos became more willing to use explosives when debtors angered her.
On 17 June 1944, several traders at the Haagse Markt who owed money to Toetanchamon refused to pay Hoos. She drove a truck through their market stalls. Nobody was injured. Hoos attempted to drive away, but police stopped her and restrained her before arresting her. She remained imprisoned until May 1945.
Hoos escaped from custody during the liberation of Den Haag. The records concerning her sentence were destroyed during the disorder, and she returned to Toetanchamon within weeks.
After the war, Toetanchamon issued high-interest loans to people who needed money for food, rent, repairs and replacement household goods. Hoos collected overdue payments from borrowers. She later ran a Toetanchamon collection district in an industrial area of Den Haag before being sent to Maasland to run the local office.
In 1959, Toetanchamon had Hoos join the VVD to establish contacts and gain influence among industrial employers and business owners. She used contacts from her work to recruit business owners for the party. Opponents later raised her criminal record, and local party officials stopped using her in public campaign work. The attempt ended later that year without Hoos obtaining a position in the party.
Hoos returned to more coercive collection work. In 1960, Toetanchamon sent her to a company that had not paid. She assaulted the company director and several employees who tried to stop her, leaving one employee seriously injured. Police arrested her at the company. Hoos was sentenced to four years' imprisonment and served the full sentence before her release in 1964.
Welding and later life
After her release, Hoos did not return to regular debt collection. She became a welder at a Hoos-owned factory in Vriendendam, where she worked on truck and other vehicle frames. She occasionally assisted Toetanchamon when asked but held no further position in the organization.
Hoos remained at the factory until retiring in 1989.
Personal life
By 1942, Hoos had a boyfriend in Den Haag. Police searching for her came to his home during the investigation into her activities. After he confronted her, Hoos smashed furniture and broke a window during the argument. The relationship ended afterward.
Hoos never married and had no children.
Death
Hoos remained in Vriendendam after her retirement. She died there from diabetes on 23 November 2004, aged 88.