A former Cape Town doctor working in New Zealand is being held in a Dunedin jail after being arrested and charged with murdering his wife.
Psychiatrist Colin David Bouwer, who worked at Tygerberg Hospital in Bellville before moving to New Zealand with his family four years ago, is accused of poisoning Annette Barbara Bouwer,47.
The arrest of the highly qualified head of psychological medicine at the University of Otago on a murder charge has shocked the community of Dunedin, a small town 350km south of Christchurch on the east coast of New Zealand.
Dunedin played host to the Springbok rugby squad during a test match last year and is home to a number of South African emigrants. Murder is rare in this sparsely populated area.
The respected psychiatrist, researcher and administrator has been charged with murdering Mrs Bouwer between 30 September last year and 5 January this year.
Police believed Mrs Bouwer had died of natural causes but after receiving a tip-off a few months later, they launched a murder investigation leading to 50-year-old Bouwer's arrest two weeks ago.
Police have so far refused to comment on the case or divulge details of how the alleged murder was carried out.
But it is believed that Mrs Bouwer, who apparently had symptoms of pancreatic cancer, was poisoned gradually. The autopsy is said to have revealed a variety of drugs in her system.
Other sources have suggested that Mrs Bouwer was ill and her death could have been the result of a "mercy killing".
Immediately after his arrest, police sealed off the Bouwers' upmarket home with tape and forensic experts spent days searching the property for evidence.
The couple's teenage son and daughter were allowed in only to collect personal items. They are in the care of a psychiatrist colleague of their father.
Bouwer has appeared in court three times and is being held in Dunedin Prison. His bail application hearing on Thursday was adjourned to this week.
The Bouwers moved to Dunedin about four years ago. He holds a combined university and hospital post, which includes a clinical practice. Before leaving South Africa, he had spent four years working as a psychiatrist at Tygerberg and Stikland hospitals in Bellville. It is understood he previously worked in Gauteng state hospitals.
Mrs Bouwer is believed to have been from Pretoria.
His superiors at Tygerberg this week declined to comment. So too did former colleagues from Cape Town who gathered in Durban this week for the National Psychiatry Congress convened by the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa.
During his time at Tygerberg Bouwer's name was allegedly associated with complaints and one doctor said Bouwer left behind "a lot of unhappiness" when he moved to New Zealand. He declined to elaborate.
Spokesperson for South Africa's Health Professions Council, Louise Emerton, confirmed that hearings had been held on two complaints against Bouwer - one in 1979, the other in 1996. Both had been finalised and neither had resulted in his being struck from the register. Emerton had been unable to get access to details of the complaints or the findings at the time of going to press.
Only complaints leading to formal hearings are allowed to be made public. Complaints against medical practitioners which are dismissed at preliminary level are regarded as confidential.
Bouwer is no longer registered with the council. Records show that in 1998 he asked to be taken off the register. According to Emerton, this is standard procedure for doctors not intending to return to South Africa.
Bouwer, a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Psychiatrists, is a University of Pretoria graduate. He also has a masters degree in pharmacology from the University of Potchefstroom and a masters in psychiatry from Stellenbosch University. - Weekend Argus
Anyone with further information can contact the reporter at (031) 308-2386 or email power@nn.independent.co.za