SANU STUDENT KILLS HIMSELF IN HOTEL

HLATIKHULU – Hotel staff members got a terrible shock when they discovered the unresponsive body of a guest who apparently committed suicide in his hotel room.

The shocking incident happened at Assegai Inn, the only hotel in Hlatikhulu, on Sunday evening. The victim had apparently swallowed the deadly grain weevil tablets to end his life.

He was later identified as Melusi Mkhatjwa (23) of Ngudzeni, a third-year BSc Medical Laboratory Sciences student at the Southern Africa Nazarene University in Manzini. This was further confirmed by the University’s Marketing Manager Petros Mavuso, when sought for comment yesterday.

Smell

Police received a hurried call from the Assegai Inn Hotel in Hlatikhulu, at around 5pm on Sunday, where an individual had complained about a foul smell coming out of one of the rooms in the facility, which was occupied by a male guest.
The horrified hotel worker further told the police that they suspected something terrible had happened because they had noted their guest’s legs protruding from the bathroom door when they peeped through the window.

Upon receiving the information, officers from the Hlatikhulu Police Station went to the hotel for inspection.
Once at the hotel, they discovered that the door to the room was locked from inside. Another key to the room had to be found to enable the police to gain access.

Upon entering the room, a witness said police found the occupant lying unresponsive on the bathroom floor. However, before the police and hotel staff could reach the body, they found the whole room in a mess. The officers had to tread carefully to avoid stepping onto human excrement and vomit on the floor. It is suspected that the victim became seriously ill after ingesting crushed grain weevil tablets and started throwing up.

Hotel employees said they had not heard anything to suggest someone was struggling inside the room, because the occupant had turned up the television volume before locking himself inside the room at around 3pm.

A container, which had only about half of the tablets remaining inside, was found next to the bed, while remains of the crushed tablets were found on top of a bedside cabinet. Next to the toxic fumigant was an empty beer bottle.

A sweep of the scene later led to the discovery of a bank card, whose particulars were later traced to the deceased’s mother. The card was found neatly tucked underneath one of the bedside cabinets. A subsequent investigation by this publication discovered that an amount of around E9 000 had been withdrawn from the cardholder’s account, before the bank could stop further withdrawals.

It later emerged that the victim had entertained friends after booking a room at the hotel, where he became a guest for almost a week.
His death was initially uncovered by one of the hotel staff members who became curious after she was confronted by a bad stench which was coming from the room that was occupied by the SANU student.

Speaking during an interview with this publication yesterday, the woman, who is employed as a cleaner at the hotel, explained that the foul odour coming from the room caused her to suspect that something was terribly wrong inside.

Weevil

“I am familiar with the smell of the grain weevil tablet and when I passed next to the room, I was convinced it was something to do with it,” she said.
Approached for comment, the hotel manager said they were deeply saddened by the incident. He said their guest had been living in the hotel for almost the whole of last week, after checking in on Tuesday.

“He would check out in the morning and later come back to ask for a room in the evening again. So, when he came back at around 3pm on Sunday we did not suspect anything because we had become accustomed to his ways. “It was only after one of our staff members came to report that there was a foul stench coming from the guest’s room that we began to fear for the worst,” explained the devastated hotel manager, adding; “It is something which really caught us unawares. Our heart-felt condolences go to the bereaved family.”

The manager mentioned that the matter was immediately reported to the police, who inspected the scene before taking the body to a local morgue.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the tragic incident when contacted for comment yesterday. She said the case was classified as a suspected suicide. She further indicated that the evidence found at the scene during preliminary investigations could not link the incident to any foul play.

This is not an isolated incident as another young lad reportedly committed suicide after he was linked to the disappearance of money belonging to his parents.
Meanwhile, this is the third suicide to rock the small town of Hlatikhulu, following the recent death of a teacher who was found hanging inside his house at Hlatikhulu Central High School last Wednesday. His death came hot on the heels of yet another suicide by a female pupil from the same school.

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