Gas geyser tragedy: Guesthouse owner gets effective 10-year sentence after couple's deaths

The owner of an Eastern Cape guesthouse has been sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison after a couple died in 2020 from carbon monoxide poisoning at the premises due to the gas geyser not being properly vented.

According to an IOL report, guesthouse owner Kevin Pretorius was sentenced in the Humansdorp Magistrate's Court in connection with the deaths of Jèan Vosloo and his 28-year-old fiancée, Mari Hoon. 

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for each death but the magistrate ordered the sentences to run concurrently so he will serve an effective 10-year sentence.

The couple had been staying at Kliphuis Guesthouse on Zuuranys Farm near Kareedouw for a long weekend when the tragedy happened.

The court heard that while they were showering, carbon monoxide gas — which has no smell and no colour — built up inside the bathroom because the gas geyser was not properly vented.

There was no flue pipe to carry the poisonous fumes outside, allowing the deadly gas to fill the small room. They were found dead in the early hours of April 26.

In other testimony led by the State, the court heard that other guests had complained about the smell of gas and feeling unwell.

Pretorius has steadfastly maintained that the deaths were a tragic accident and not the result of any intention to harm the couple.

For more stories from The Mercury, click the link THE MERCURY