Previn Pillay
Image: Supplied
THE father of murdered 29-year-old Previn Pillay says his family feels a sense of justice following the sentencing of his son’s killers.
Previn’s father, Dennis Pillay, welcomed the sentences handed down in the Western Cape High Court on March 12 in a significant moment for the family following years of anguish.
His son was killed in December 2020 after leaving home in his Toyota Hilux bakkie.
The bumper of the vehicle was later recovered in Sunbird Park.
A week after Pillay's disappearance, police were called to Hazendal train station in Athlone, where a burning suitcase containing the young man’s dismembered body was discovered.
Staff at the station reported seeing a man dragging a large travel suitcase to the station. Moments later, they saw the suspect set the bag alight before running away as smoke began to rise.
Following the gruesome discovery, police arrested Riefaat Loofer, Glenville Jansen, and Franklin van Niekerk.
Loofer was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery, and 15 years for defeating or obstructing the administration of justice. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Jansen was also sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, while Van Niekerk was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for theft.
Dennis said the past five years have been extremely difficult for the family, especially after the convicted killers revealed no details of their crime in court.
“Given the fact that they didn’t confess to what they did and that we don’t know what went on, it’s painful. Unfortunately, we have to live with that, unless they come back at a later stage and say what they did," he said.
“The past five years have been... really painful as we underwent a lot of trauma when someone takes the life of your own child away.”
He added that his son had a bright future ahead of him after completing a BSc in Biodiversity at UWC.
“For nine years, he was our only child and the apple of our eye. To see that taken away from us is something that is very difficult to deal with.
“But justice has prevailed, and we must commend the judge, prosecutor, and detective team. We have faith in the justice system, and it has closed a chapter in our lives,” he said.
Cape Times