Phadamalingum Pather (Pat) (1935 – 2008)

Brief overview:

Phadamalingum (73), known at Pat, a Hindu Priest from Phoenix KZN, was stabbed and beaten to death during November 2008.

The main ringleader of the gang was out on parole for only a few months after serving four years for armed robbery and car hijacking, was thrown back into a cell yesterday in connection with the murder. His extensive tattooing showed him to be a member of the notorious “26s” prison gang.

Captain Ronald Pillay, commander of the Provincial House Robbery Task Team, hopes this time the suspect won’t be coming out of prison. He cannot be named as he has not yet appeared in court, was tracked to his hideout in the notorious Amaoti area north of Durban after informers confirmed that property stolen from the priest was sold to a suspected drug dealer in Amaoti.

The gang has been linked to two house robberies and the robbery of two Hindu temples.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • "On October 15, four members of the Nazareth Baptist Church on the KZN north coast were raped after armed men stormed into a church service and robbed the congregation. Last month, 15 men, some of them armed with firearms, stormed a church service in Cato Manor, seizing cash and jewellery. Last month, Pillay’s detectives secured a conviction for a gang who robbed a congregation of church-goers at Cliffdale, north of Durban. “These robbers are all essentially cowards [who] target the weak. It is … sad that these people murdered a man for his television and a few other odds and ends.”

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/x73mK