- The lawyer for the man on trial for three murders in Gansbaai asked whether at least one of the deaths could have been due to medical negligence.
- His lawyer revealed that a note in the medical file said there was a nick to the colon.
- The man died three months later after struggling to recover in hospital.
A man shot during an alleged abalone smuggling turf war in Gansbaai toughed it out for one night before going to hospital for treatment, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.
With bullets in his stomach, knee and lower leg, Attie King only went to Tygerberg Hospital for help the next day.
He had two operations and, after three months in hospital, he died.
Redowaan de Bruyn is on trial for the murders of King, Ashwan Griffiths and Rubin Claasen on 13 July 2019 in Dahlia Street, Gansbaai.
The State alleges the shooting was on the orders of the Terrible Josters gang, and has also included Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca) charges against De Bruyn.
His lawyer spent most of Monday quizzing a doctor to establish whether King's death may have been due to medical negligence, inferring that it may not necessarily have been the bullets which killed him.
The doctor testifying was a junior at the time, and did not perform the surgeries, but did ward rounds.
On Monday, the court heard that, although the shooting was around 20:00 the Sunday, King only took himself to Tygerberg Hospital on Monday morning. He was admitted around 07:00.
He was operated on the following day, but his condition did not improve after 72 hours.
He went for a second operation and, after that, the notes in his medical file stated that a nick was found on his colon, possibly caused by a surgeon during his first operation, or missed during the first operation.
King did not get better and ultimately died of multiple organ failure, caused by septicemia due to the gunshot wounds to his abdomen.
The court heard that a colon injury should be treated within eight hours for the best outcome - and that King did not recover as expected after the first operation.
It was only during a second operation that the problem with his colon was noted.
In the meantime, the autopsy report listed all of King's tattoos, which might be taken into consideration for the Poca charge.
The trial continues on Tuesday.