‘She attacked me,’ says accused in bee researcher’s case

A Simon’s Town businessman accused of assaulting wild-bee researcher Jenny Cullinan said the doctor who testified about the extent of her injuries “disgraced himself by making his findings fit the narrative”.

Neel Ramlall testified for the first time in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court, on Wednesday, July 19, in the continuation of his trial where he faces a charge of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He is accused of striking Ms Cullinan multiple times with a stick on the mountain near Cape Point in July 2021 (“Bee researcher’s case postponed again,” Echo, August 25, 2022).

In February, Dr Steven van der Merwe, a general practitioner with 27 years of experience, testified that the wound on top of Ms Cullinan’s head was “straight” and caused by the sharp edge of an object such as a knife, a piece of metal, or wood (“‘Significant force’ caused Cullinan’s head wound, court hears,” Echo, February 2).

When asked to look at the photos of Ms Cullinan’s injuries during cross-examination, Mr Ramlall claimed the blood was “fake”, and when asked by state prosecutor Chandré Green whether he had insinuated that the injuries had been made to appear what they were not, he responded: “These photos can be compared to photos from Extinction Rebellion or gay pornographic magazines or something.”

Mr Ramlall testified that Ms Cullinan had approached him on the day of the alleged attack.

He said he had been hiking with his wife and son, something they did regularly on weekends.

He said his wife and son had been heading back to the car with him at a distance behind them when Ms Cullinan had come up to him and asked him what he was doing there in “a harsh tone”.

She had asked if he had a permit, and he had replied that he and his family had Green Cards.

He told the court that she had demanded to see the Green Cards. She had also asked what he was carrying and had wanted to search him.

“I turned my pockets inside out and showed her I had nothing,” he said.

He said she had then asked what his family was carrying and she had turned around calling “yoohoo, yoohoo” and had wanted to search them.

He said that when he had asked her who she was and why she wanted to search them, she had replied: “I am the f******g police and I’m sick and tired of c***s like you coming here and taking stuff. You must f***k off back…”

Mr Ramlall did not complete the sentence as his lawyer objected because of laughter from the public gallery.

He told the court that Ms Cullinan had then “struck” him on his left cheek.

He said he had been carrying a “walking stick” with a sharpened edge, which the court later heard was part of a broomstick.

He said he had used the stick to keep Ms Cullinan at bay and admitted that he had “made contact” with the stick but said he did not know how many times or how Ms Cullinan had sustained all the injuries documented.

He said she had kept coming at him and had then tripped over one of her dogs and fallen to the ground.

He said her eyes had been “glassy” and he had thought she might have been drunk.

He testified that Ms Cullinan told him: “I’m going to f***k you up, you don’t know who you are messing with,” before taking her dog and making her way to her car.

His wife, Yogandrie Naidoo, later testified that she and her son had heard dogs barking and could hear Ms Cullinan’s voice “quite loudly” although they could not see the initial interaction.

She testified that they had then retraced their steps and she had witnessed how Ms Cullinan had “swung her right arm” and slapped her husband across the face.

“It was a wide swing,” she said.

She said he had then pushed her with his stick while she had been swinging her arms. Ms Cullinan had then stumbled and fallen.

She testified that Ms Cullinan had gotten up almost immediately after she had fallen, grabbed her dog’s leash and left.

The court heard from Ms Naidoo that she and her husband had been “in shock” after the incident; her husband’s face had been “quite swollen” and they had gone to the police station.

During the cross-examination of Mr Ramlall, Ms Green put it to him that Ms Cullinan had sustained the injury on the top of her head due to him attacking her with a sharp object.

She then asked him how Ms Cullinan had sustained the other injuries.

“I do not know how she got any of her injuries. All I know is that I tried to hold her at bay and poked her with it...”

He then added: “In hindsight, it would have been better if I had poked her eye out.”

Ms Greene asked why he had used a dangerous weapon to defend himself against a defenceless woman.

“It was an instinctive reaction because she struck me. I was trying to keep her at bay and the dogs from having my privates for lunch,” he said.

Asked why he had not just walked away, Mr Ramlall said: “It happened so quickly. She became a different, person, she snapped and became violent, and I was just trying to keep her at bay.”

“With a sharp stick?” Ms Greene asked, and Mr Ramlall responded: “It could have been a sword in my hand. I was just trying to keep her at bay.”

The case was postponed to Tuesday August 22 for closing arguments.