Durban - A man who allegedly killed his wife by slitting her throat and setting her home on fire has been denied bail in the Durban High Court on Wednesday.
Kasilal Singh, 40, a postman from Phoenix, was denied bail in the Durban Magistrates Court and had appealed the bail decision in the High Court.
His bail decision was heard in absentia.
Singh handed himself soon after his wife, Phoenix mother of two Alvina Singh, 40, was found dead in the bedroom of her home in Stonebridge, Phoenix on May, 3.
When reaction officers arrived on scene they found the windows were closed and doors were locked.
The house was filled with black smoke.
They broke the door to find the source of the fire and extinguish it.
The officers suspected foul play. They searched the house and found blood stains inside the house. A search revealed the body of a woman in one of the rooms.
He was dissatisfied with the outcome of his bail application and appealed the decision.
He relied on the grounds that the magistrate erred in and failed to give sufficient weight to his personal circumstances in that he would not pose a flight risk or that his release would not endanger the safety of the public.
He also believed that exceptional circumstances existed which justified his release on bail.
He had however elected not to testify on the witness stand in support of his bail application and submitted an affidavit.
In his affidavit he stated that he and his wife were separated for sometime and gave claims relating to his health.
He also submitted that failure to release him on bail would be detrimental to his family's welfare.
He also claimed that she was was the aggressor and had attacked him and that he acted in self defence.
He had also attached the letter from a general practitioner who treated him in 2015 and that the doctor referred him to psychiatrist in 2015 after a para suicidal attempt.
However Judge Esther Steyn found that suggestion that the state correctional facility would not be able to assist him with his health problem could not hold water.
She said in fact correctional facility delivers satisfactory healthcare.
She said the crime he was accused of was horrific and serious.
"The conduct after the murder contradicts his claim of being a caring father," said Steyn.
Steyn said after the incident, he made no attempt to check on the welfare of his children, he intentionally set the home of the children alight and disappeared for days after without offering any comfort to the children.
She said Singh had failed to present evidence that his release would not undermine the objectives of the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.
"The lower court was correct in its overall evaluation of the evidence before it that bail should be refused," said Steyn.