MALALANE – Neil van der Veen (40) passed away in Mediclinic Nelspruit on Sunday, allegedly due to injuries sustained in a fight in Duck ‘n Dive, a pub in Malalane, the previous evening.
He was the manager at Mjejane Game Reserve and only recently moved to the Lowveld.
According to his wife, Nadia, he and a few friends headed to the pub for drinks after a golf day.
They were allegedly dragged into a fight and Neil was injured. He headed home, but later got so sick Nadia had to rush him to hospital.
An inquest docket into Neil’s death was opened in Mbombela and sent to Malalane SAPS for investigation.
The police station’s Sgt Bheki Nkosi confirmed that the docket had been opened and that he could not disclose any of the findings. He said police would open a case as soon as investigators have confirmed that a criminal element was involved and that the investigation was ongoing.
READ: Church join hands with police to fight crime
He stated that an autopsy had been done to determine the cause of death and that police are looking for any witnesses who could help them close the case.
Witnesses are encouraged to contact Det Sgt Douglas Mhlongo on 082-448-9355.
“We are doing our best to investigate the matter and provide the family closure and we urge anyone who can assist us to come forward,” he said.
Neil’s memorial service will be held in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
Nadia declined to comment further on the circumstances of her husband’s death as she did not want to jeopardise the case in any way.
READ: Hazyview police baffled by stationary vehicle rolling into a ditch
Nkosi urged community members to immediately report assaults or similar crimes to enable police to gather evidence and deal with the matter as soon as possible.
Gavin Jones, Duck ‘n Dive manager, said they were cooperating with the police’s investigation and have handed over the CCTV footage of the night. “I don’t know about any fight,” he said. “As far as I know the guy was in here and fell over a couple of times on his own.”
