Man dies after hotel mix-up

JOHANNESBURG: A driver’s licence examiner died of a heart attack over the festive season when he arrived in Cape Town and found his hotel had been double-booked, eNews Channel Africa reported yesterday.

Joe Mthembu, 46, and three friends had paid the Notel International Hotel in Camps Bay a R19 000 deposit for accommodation for themselves and their families over New Year. When they arrived from Johannesburg they learnt that their rooms had been double-booked.

Mthembu suffered a heart attack after trying for about eight hours to make alternative arrangements. He died in hospital with his wife and child at his bedside.

The hotel’s director John Venter said the matter was his former accountant’s fault. “… it’s not my responsibility to do bookings,” he said.

The former accountant said he had warned Venter months before about the problem. – Sapa