Guest house owner awaits ruling in gas geyser double death case
While the state maintains a Kareedouw guest house owner knew his faulty geyser was potentially life-threatening, Kevin Pretorius (47) argues there was no negligence on his part.
The Herald report says Pretorius has maintained he had no role in the deaths of Jean Vosloo (25) and Mari Hoon (28) when they stayed at Kliphuis in April 2020.
To further these points, state and defence attorneys submitted closing arguments in the Gqeberha Regional Court yesterday, and judgment is scheduled for 15 November.
Pretorius was charged with two counts of murder.
Toxicology reports confirmed the couple had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, allegedly caused by a faulty gas geyser.
Upon investigation, the police found that a flue pipe, meant to act as an exhaust for carbon monoxide produced by the gas geyser, was missing. It also came to light that the geyser was fitted with a flue sensor which, in the absence of a flue pipe, was supposed to shut the geyser down after four minutes.
However, it is believed the sensor did not function properly.
State prosecutor Johan Jansen argued Pretorius admitted to knowing that exposure to liquefied petroleum gas and excessive carbon monoxide could be fatal, adding that Pretorius’ lack of action to address the faulty geyser turned Kliphuis into a death trap.
Coupled with there being no approved building plans for Kliphuis, or a certificate of compliance for the installation of the gas geyser, submitted to the Koukamma Municipality, he concluded that the structure should never have been inhabited.
The Herald report says Pretorius’ attorney Peter Daubermann argued there was not enough conclusive evidence to confirm that the symptoms suffered by the guests prior to Hoon and Vosloo’s deaths were directly linked to the gas geyser inside the guest house, and that a number of external factors could have contributed to their deaths.
Daubermann also submitted the lack of building plans or installation certificates for the geyser were irrelevant in determining the accused’s negligence, in that he would not have known if the geyser’s flue sensor was faulty, and he could not have foreseen the deaths of Hoon and Vosloo.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
