Father shot dead 'to silence him' as a witness

Gang fired more than 30 bullets into his head, face and body

- YOSHINI PERUMAL [e-mail]

A SHALLCROSS father who was a State witness in an attempted murder case, was killed when armed men posing as police officers forced their way into his flat and shot him more than 30 times while he was asleep in his bedroom.

Justin Pillay, 40, a father of two, was killed in full view of his father, Poobalan Govindsamy Pillay, 68, in the early hours of Tuesday.

A relative, who did not want to be named, said he believed Justin was killed because he was a State witness in an attempted murder case.

"The attempted murder case is linked to a 2024 shooting, where Justin escaped unharmed. Justin's employee was shot. He was a State witness in the case which has been ongoing. The trial was expected to continue in October in the Durban Regional Court. This may have been a plot to silence him," the relative claimed.