Night on the town ends in tragedy

What was supposed to be a fun night out ended tragically for a city woman, after her husband and father of two young sons, was shot dead, allegedly by an off-duty policeman during an altercation at a friend’s flat.

The evening had initially promised to be one of fun and laughter after Maxine Pillay was invited for a ‘girl’s night’ out by two friends. Her husband, Yoland Pillay (30), encouraged her to go and have fun as she hadn’t been out in a long time.

“We called a taxi to take me to my friend’s flat in Manor and Yoland decided to come along and drop me off. When we arrived there we went up, and Yoland poured all of us some drinks while we sorted our hair out. It was turning out to be such a fun evening that Yoland decided to join us at a nearby clubhouse,” says Maxine.

However, that’s when the evening started taking a turn for the worse. The friends were having a great time dancing and socialising until the club management discovered that Yoland had broken the rules by bringing a bottle of alcohol into the club.

“We were dancing and just having fun. Yoland ordered some shank and we were having such a great time. I then left to go to the loo with my friend but when I returned the manager began questioning us about the bottle of drink we had brought into the club. Yoland told the manager that he had brought the bottle into the club and he was then told to leave unless we pay a fine of R400. Yoland said it was no use paying the R400 as it was late and that he would meet us outside the club,” says Maxine.

However, when they exited the club, Maxine says Yoland was nowhere to be seen. The friends were then approached by a policeman who offered them a lift home as he lived in the same flat as her friend did. While driving back, Maxine alleges the man offered them a bottle of liquor to consume. They then stopped at a nearby service station to buy cups.

“We stopped at the garage to buy cups and my two friends and the policeman turned up the music and started dancing next to the car. All four of us returned to the flat and had another round of drinks before the policeman and my other friend left for an hour before returning,” says Maxine.

While at the friend’s flat, Maxine’s husband arrived, knocked at the door and started calling out to his wife saying he was there to take her home and that they should open the door.

“My friends yelled out to me that Yoland would soon get tired and would leave. Yoland heard them saying this and got really angry and eventually kicked the door and broke the lock. My friends, fearing for me, pulled me into the bathroom...and that’s when I heard what sounded like firecrackers. I opened the door and saw Yoland lying on the bed, bleeding. He had several wounds on him and there were bullet casings on the floor.

“I rushed over to him. He told me that he loved me and that I should stay there with him and not go anywhere. He asked me to promise to look after our two sons...moments later police arrived and asked me to leave the room as it was a ‘crime scene’. I left, but returned minutes later to check on Yoland, but it was too late, he was dead,” said Maxine.

“I rushed around pleading with someone to help me, I needed to call for help from my family, but no one wanted to help. I eventually ran to the nearby garage and managed to call my aunt and told her what happened. I was scared and ran from Manor to my sister’s house in Thomas Street...they couldn’t believe Yoland had died. By the time we returned to Manor, Yoland’s body had already been taken to the mortuary.”

Maxine says she went to the police station to open charges, but was told the state would be opening a case.

Yoland’s father, Rogers Pillay, told Capital Newspapers that he wants justice for his son.

“The person responsible for this must face the might of the law. My grandchildren have been robbed of their father. We want justice,” said Rogers.

Kwazulu-natal Police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, said an inquest and murder docket have been opened.

“It is alleged that on October 31, at 4:30am, a 30-year-old man broke into the residential premises in Manor and stabbed a 27-yearold male on the abdomen, arm and chest. The intruder who sustained gunshot wounds died at the scene. An inquest and attempted murder dockets were opened at the Pietermaritzburg police station for investigation,” said Mbhele.