Durban - Fearing the worst, neighbours called in a private security company when they got a whiff of something awful from a home in Verulam and calls to the house went unanswered.
The drama – which has a happy, if foul-smelling ending – began 10 days ago in the Riet River area when neighbours who were perturbed by the pong realised they had not seen Fathma Deen Mahomed for a few days and
the 62-year-old was not answering her phone.
Close neighbour Wasila Shunmugam said an awful smell was coming from Mahomed’s house.
“We saw flies buzzing around the windows, curtains and door. We had not seen her in a few days. Initially we thought her cat had died. The more her cellphone went unanswered the more we feared she was dead. We decided to call Balram,” she said.
Prem Balram, of private security company Reaction Unit South Africa, got the call last Tuesday. He said when he arrived at the house a huge crowd had gathered.
Balram said a bedroom window was forced open and a guard searched the house, but could not find her.
“The guard found a large plastic dish with decomposing meat and vegetables lying on the bedroom floor surrounded by flies. Residents breathed a sigh of relief,” Balram said.
Mahomed told the Daily News on Monday she had laughed off the incident. On Eid day she went to her relative’s home in Phoenix.
She returned the next day with a parcel of meat. In her haste to return to her relative she left the meat on her bedroom floor. She had stayed over at the weekend in Phoenix. Her phone was in her handbag which she had left in her relative’s cupboard.
Mahomed’s relative heard the phone ring in the cupboard and handed it to her. She called her neighbour who repeated the story of her being dead.
“I said to them ‘don’t worry I am coming home’. In Islam, when one speaks of death this means I will now live long. I am grateful for the care and consideration the neighbours have for me,” she said.
Balram said that although the call-out had been a false complaint, the neighbours, out of concern for the woman, had acted correctly.
“We often attend crime scenes where people are tied up in their homes. It is important to be friendly with your neighbours because they will always be there first when you need help. This area has a close-knit community,” Balram said.
Daily News