Durban - A plumber who found himself in trouble with his girlfriend over an alleged affair apparently hanged himself outside the back rooms he rented in Verulam.
The plumber, 28, had been confronted by his girlfriend after she came across romantic SMSes between him and a co-worker.
The girlfriend told the Daily News she had confronted the woman, who in turn contacted the plumber, leading to him rushing home to Everest Heights, Verulam, at midday on Tuesday.
The distraught girlfriend, 23, told the Daily News that after the confrontation, she had asked her boyfriend to go back to work because she had forgiven him for the transgression.
She had locked him out for several minutes, she said, but had then let him back in.
“When I first confronted him about the SMSes he said I am crazy, so I took the number and I called the girl myself. I was angry because this means she was sleeping here when I was not here,” she said.
“He apologised on Tuesday and I said ‘it’s fine’ and I was watching TV, playing games on my phone, expecting him to go back to work.
“Then he went into the bedroom and I wasn’t paying attention to him. He asked for my phone and Facebook password.
“I said no, because I could see he was trying to put the blame on me because he was cheating.”
The girlfriend said the plumber continued to pace the house but she ignored him and he left.
“I thought he was going to work or going to see his friends when he left, but he just hanged himself,” she said weeping.
Homeowner Stanley Naidoo said his wife discovered the body when she returned from picking up their children from school at about midday.
The couple had been staying on the Naidoos’ property since April.
“I’m traumatised by this incident. It’s the first time anything like this has happened. I keep two tenants here, and it’s terrible when something like this happens, because one second you see someone and they are happy, and now this.”
Prem Balram of Reaction Unit SA said paramedics tried to resuscitate the man, but declared him dead at the scene.
“Officers and paramedics responded and found the (man) lying on the ground next to an open gate,” he said.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said police had opened an inquest docket.
Daily News