Soon after a Tongaat mother was alerted by a school transporter that both her daughters had not attended school on Tuesday, news broke that they had been found dead with their father at his Belvedere home.
It has been alleged that 37-year-old Leon Munsamy, a petroleum company employee, had poisoned both his daughters, aged four and seven, before taking his own life.
Speculation is rife that Munsamy was separated from his wife.
The quiet Sastri Circle neighbourhood was shattered when the three bodies were discovered in the locked house.
According to private security company On Target, their officers were alerted to the incident at approximately 1:20pm.
Spokesperson Megan Mottiahn said they were unable to gain immediate access to the property on arrival.
“When we got to the scene, the house was locked and we could not get in. The neighbour had notified us that they had tried calling the father several times but there was no answer,” said Mottiahn.
“Our guys proceeded to go into the premises and found a 37-year-old male hanged from the ceiling. They went further into the house and found two female children who were dead. From the looks of it, the children were possibly poisoned. They had been frothing from their mouths before they died.”
The discovery has shocked neighbours, many of whom said they heard loud music coming from the house the previous evening but did not suspect anything was wrong.
Clive Chetty, a relative of the deceased man, described him as calm and said the tragedy had left the family devastated.
“He was always calm. This is shocking. The children lived with their mom. He has them on the weekends and they were with him last night. The children go to school.
“He has been living in this house from June. We also heard the music last night but did not think anything of it,” said Chetty.
According to information provided to the security officials, the children’s mother became concerned after being notified by the school transport service that the girls had not arrived at school.
“The mother said the transporter from the school notified her that the children were not at school. It is alleged that the incident happened last night,” Mottiahn added.
Daniel Chettiar, founder of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) in North Coast, said they were called to the scene shortly after the bodies were discovered.
He said the man, who worked for petroleum company, was separated from his wife.
“Mental health issues and the suicide rate among men is worrying. People are battling to make ends meet. Divorce adds to it. Whatever the circumstances were, for a man to decide to take his two children’s lives and his own could not have been easy.
“For this man to do this to his own children and himself means he had no hope in anything,” he added. This is mental illness not selfishness. Depression is a terrible disease and seems relentless. A lot of us have been close to that edge, or dealt with family members in a crisis, and some have lost friends and loved ones.
“We need to look out for each other and stop sweeping mental illness under the rug. We need dialogue, community empowerment and awareness programmes to curb the suicide rate,” Chettiar added.
Dolly Munien, a ward councillor in Tongaat, said the news of the incident sent shockwaves through the community.
“It is really devastating. I would not want any family, or mother to go through such pain. These were innocent children, and no matter the situation, they should not have been robbed of their lives. My prayers are with the family. I also urge people battling mental health issues or are victims of domestic violence to seek help.”
Don Perumall, a community activist, said: “No words can express the heart-wrenching pain of this loss of lives. My sincere condolences to the family. May the departed rest in eternal peace.”
Rachael Naidoo, secretary of the Tongaat Civic Association, in a statement, said they were deeply saddened by the tragedy.
“Once again children are the innocent victims.This tragedy highlights the need for families to seek the necessary assistance to deal with the pressures that they may face. As a community we must rally together and offer support rather than being judgemental.”
Story: Post Newspaper
