Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Camperdown Town Hall on Thursday to pay tribute to Pillay.
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ONE of the victims of the gruesome Camperdown triple murder, Balan Pillay,45, was laid to rest today.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Camperdown Town Hall on Thursday to pay tribute to Pillay.
On Monday, businessman Aldane Donnelly, 40, appeared in the Camperdown Magistrate’s Court for the murder of Pillay, Kenneth Nichols Halgryn, 46, and Clive Anthony, 69.
The men were allegedly murdered by their employer over unpaid wages.
Anthony’s grieving family also attended Pillay’s funeral service.
Speaking after the funeral, Pillay’s brother, Yergan Pillay, 39, from Lincoln Meade in Pietermaritzburg, said the overwhelming turnout reflected how deeply his brother was loved by community.
“This is a huge tragedy in our family and it warmed our hearts to see so many people come out to support in this difficult time.
“Around three busloads of people came to the funeral. We saw people from different faiths pray and grieve with us. There was not enough seating for everyone - that is how well-loved my brother was.”
Pillay said the family was moved by the support shown by the community and local leadership, including the deputy mayor of Camperdown, who delivered a speech during the service.
“We were overwhelmed with the love we received. We are still not doing well as a family, but witnessing the major support today kept us going and we hope this support will continue through the court case,” he said.
On Monday, Donnelly abandoned his bail application.
Shaheen Suleiman, the owner of Magma Security and Investigation, said they received a call on Friday afternoon about two bodies that were found near Umlaas Road.
“When we got to the scene were directed to the workshop. We were then directed into another room and found three bodies lying in a pool of blood. We called Camperdown SAPS to take over the scene. The accused was later arrested in a bed and breakfast,” said Suleiman.
Relatives of the three victims claimed there had been months of salary disputes between the accused and workers at the workshop.
KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police were called to the property on Friday evening where three bodies were found with multiple stab wounds.
Netshiunda said: “A spear-like object suspected to be the weapon used to kill the three victims was recovered.”
He added that police had not ruled out an employment-related dispute as a possible motive.