Family alleges Point police failed to open inquest after 75-year-old’s death

Family alleges Point police failed to open inquest after woman died outside Addington Hospital.

The family of a 75-year-old woman who died outside Addington Hospital on Tuesday afternoon is preparing to lodge a formal complaint against the South African Police Service (SAPS).

They alleged that a police officer from Point Police Station failed to open an inquest case after Poovathy Govender had died outside the hospital and that had delayed her funeral arrangements.

Esay Gounden said her aunt was injured at her home in Greenwood Park.

"I received a phone call from my cousin at around 5pm on Tuesday. He told me that my aunt had fallen down while leaving the kitchen and asked me to phone an ambulance because I knew them personally," she said.

Gounden said her aunt sadly died outside the hospital waiting while for help. 

"We were very shocked to hear the news about the police officer refusing to open an inquest. The police needed to do this because my aunt died from an unnatural cause," she said.

She said the police's failure to open the inquest docket affected not only funeral arrangements but also getting the her aunt’s body into the mortuary. 

"My cousin and paramedics spent hours trying to get my aunt’s body to the Phoenix mortuary. The workers at the mortuary did not want to accept the body because there was no police paperwork," claimed Gounden.

She said they eventually found assistance at Greenwood Park Police Station where they managed to open an inquest. 

"Our aim is to deal with the police officer who caused all these delays. I will ensure that he accounts for what he did to my aunt and us as family," said Gounden.

She said she was in the process of launching a formal complaint for non-compliance with Point SAPS. 

"What this police officer from the Point Police Station did was unacceptable and disgusting. Police officers must treat everyone the same regardless of work status, race and gender. We want to see the police officer pay for what he did to our family," Gounden said. 

She mentioned that they had to pay for the private ambulance to take her aunt to the hospital. 

"When my cousin visited the Phoenix mortuary, he was told to come back tomorrow as the autopsy on my aunt will be conducted on Thursday. This is all causing more delays to the funeral arrangements," she said. 

Gounden added they knew the name of the police officer who refused to open the inquest.

Gareth Naidoo of KZN VIP Protection Service, said their paramedics were called to Govender’s home even though it was closed at the time. 

"The patient had sustained injuries, was in a critical condition and rushed to the hospital. The patient's condition rapidly deteriorated, which prompted resuscitation," he said.

Naidoo said upon arrival at Addington Hospital, the patient was sadly declared deceased. 

"The protocol for paramedics, if there are any injuries on a patient, requires police officers to be called in, which was done in this situation. Police officers from Point SAPS arrived on the scene and were informed of the incident and shown the injuries, but they did not open an inquest or anything," he explained. 

He said the police officers requested the ambulance to take the deceased directly to the mortuary. 

"At Phoenix mortuary, officials did not accept the deceased as there was no paperwork from SAPS. Paramedics spent approximately three hours waiting outside the mortuary with the deceased. Paramedics had to go to Phoenix SAPS and Greenwood Park SAPS for assistance which they eventually received at Greenwood Park," said Naidoo.

Police did not comment at the time of publication.