TWO mothers are calling for justice after one of their son’s was killed and the other has been left fighting for his life, following a fight outside a pool hall.
An 18-year-old accused was arrested and charged with the murder of Trinesh Lorenzo Pillay, 19, and the attempted murder of the 17-year-old. It has been alleged that the matric pupils were attacked with a wheel spanner and repeatedly stabbed outside the pool hall in Mondeor, Johannesburg, on April 4.
Pillay was stabbed in the chest and died before reaching the hospital. His friend, who sustained multiple stab wounds, including to his aorta (main artery) and lung, is on life support.
The accused was expected to apply for bail in the Johannesburg High Court.
Pillay’s mother, Marie-Anne Veloo, and Michelle Reddy, who did not want her son to be named out of fear for his safety, both of Lenasia South, said they were praying that bail was denied.
Speaking to the POST, Veloo said: “My baby was taken from me. He (the accused) needs to be punished for what he has done. He and his family have not even shown any remorse, yet we are in so much pain.”
She said on that fateful night, Pillay had gone to the pool hall with his friends.
“It was still the school holidays but Trinesh was meant to attend extra matric classes. But he stayed at home because he wanted to enjoy the long weekend. A friend of his had stayed over the night before. I spent most of the day with them. We were like best friends, always joking and laughing. He recently started playing in the pool league with my husband and his brother,” said Veloo.
“That evening, Trinesh and a few of his friends said they were going to play pool. He told me that if he was going to be late, he would stay by his friend’s house and would see me in the morning. I told him to be safe and that I loved him, like I tell my children every day. I didn’t know it would be the last time I heard him say, ‘bye, I love you mom’ and have him kiss me on my cheek,” she said.
She said a few hours later she received a call that Pillay had been stabbed.
“I had a very restless sleep, and had woken up at about midnight. I saw that my cellphone battery was dead and put it on charge.Normally, I wouldn’t worry as if there was an emergency the person would call on my husband’s cellphone. But I was feeling very anxious, and prayed before going back to bed.
“It must have been around 1.30am when I heard my cellphone ring. I thought it must be Trinesh calling so that I could open the door for him. However, when I answered, the boy asked if I was Trinesh’s mother and then said he was his friend. My first words were, ‘is Trinesh okay?’.
“He told me that Trinesh had been stabbed and it was bad. When we arrived at the hospital, we saw Trinesh’s friends and some of their parents. While speaking to the security, one of the parents said ‘this is the mother of the child who got stabbed in the heart’. At that moment, I felt as if time stood still. I just wanted to see my baby,” she said.
Veloo said she was made to wait in the waiting area.
“After a while, a doctor came to me. She asked what my son was wearing, if he wore earrings and if we could describe how he looked. When we showed her his picture, she just nodded her head. My heart sank. She said they tried to resuscitate him but there was nothing more they could do to save him.
“I saw my child after that. He was just lying on the stretcher. I kept telling him, ‘mommy is here, wake up, wake up’. I touched his face, he was still warm. He was my whole world, and he was taken from me,” she said.
Veloo said she spoke to Pillay’s friends who told her there was a fight.
“They said there was an argument and then the fight happened with another group of boys. Trinesh and one of his friends were both stabbed. He passed on before reaching the hospital. The other boy who was stabbed, had taken off his shirt and put it on Trinesh’s chest to stop the bleeding. He was hurt, but still tried to save my child. I am forever grateful to him and will continue to pray for his recovery,” she said.
Veloo described her son as loving, kind and respectful.
“My child had big dreams. He told me that he wanted to take a gap year when he finished matric. He was planning on starting a business with his brother. I am not someone who is materialistic but my son always said he couldn’t wait to spoil me.
“He would say, ‘when I am big, you are going to see the life I am going to give you’. But I told him all I needed was him and his siblings. I don’t need anything else. Now, how am I supposed to live without him? My child’s killer must be punished. We won’t stop fighting for justice for my son and his friend,” she said.
Reddy said her son was fighting for his life and there was nothing they could do but pray for him.
She said it was the first time her son had gone out.
“He had passed his learner’s licence and because he loved playing pool, we allowed him to go. From what we were told, a fight had broken out and the bouncer had taken them out of the pool hall. While outside, some other boys went to the car and went back with a wheel spanner. My son was hit on the head. My son and his friends apparently tried to run away, but these boys had a knife.
“That is when they were stabbed. I don’t even know how many times my child was stabbed but he had many wounds even on his palms. It seemed like they wanted to kill them. A mother has lost her child and my child is fighting for his life. This cannot go unpunished,” she said.