Alleged killers of Pinelands businessman Previn Pillay plead 'not guilty

Heartbreaking details surrounding the frantic search for Pinelands businessman, Previn Pillay, have emerged in the Western Cape High Court as the trio of alleged killers pleaded not guilty. 

Nearly five years after the horrific murder of the young businessman who was decapitated and his mutilated corpse placed in a suitcase and set light, his alleged killers have pleaded not guilty as his father took the witness stand on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old man from Pinelands was last seen on December 23, 2020, leaving his home in Pinelands in his white Toyota Hilux bakkie.

The bumper of the vehicle was later found in Sunbird Park, but the bakkie was never recovered.

A week later police were called to Hazendal train station in Athlone where a mutilated body was found in a suitcase.

At the time, staff at the station saw a man dragging a large travel suitcase to the subway.

They saw the suspect setting the bag alight, it started smoking, and they rushed over to put out the fire as the suspect ran away.

Police later busted Riefaat Loofer, Glenville Jansen and Franklin van Niekerk.

Standing in the dock on Tuesday, the trio pleaded not guilty and exercised their right to remain silent offering no plea explanation. 

Dad, Dennis Pillay, told the court that while the family lived in Pinelands, his son who had completed a BSc in Biodiversity at UWC lived on a separate property on his own but would frequent his family home. 

He explained in the days following Previn's disappearance, he had messaged his son to return tools he had borrowed but received no response. 

Several days later Previn’s mother sent him a text saying she was making his favourite meal, beans and rotis, but he never pitched and this is when the search began. 

The father explained that after opening a missing persons case they requested a tracking report of his vehicle, which showed on December 23 he had travelled to Sea Point where he had planned to open a coffee shop. 

The father said as the weeks went by they appointed a private investigator to help them search and even forked out R10 000 after being informed that their son was being held captive in Elsies River. 

It later turned out the information was not legit and some of the funds returned to the family. 

He said desperate for clues the family even hired a clairvoyant from the UK. 

"I am a scientist, I don’t believe in that. But as a parent, in that state you accept any advice."

Questioned by the judge on why DNA tests had to be conducted, the father sadly explained his son’s corpse was missing a head and this was the only way to confirm his identity.

The trial continues.

Cape Argus