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Essex hospital surgeon was shot dead in Cape Town - inquest

Getty Images Cape Town during a protest by taxi driversGetty Images
Authorities in Cape Town said Mr Teoh accidentally drove into the path of people caught up in an ongoing taxi protest

A British surgeon was shot dead in South Africa while on holiday with his family, an inquest has heard.

Kar Hao Teoh, 40, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was killed in Cape Town on 4 August.

Police previously said he was driving from the airport when he took a wrong turn into the path of protesters in the city.

An inquest at the Essex Coroner's Court has been opened and adjourned.

Police in Cape Town are treating his death as murder but said no-one had been arrested in connection with his death.

PA Media A general view of Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, EssexPA Media
Mr Teoh was a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Princess Alexandra Hospital

Area Coroner Michelle Brown told the inquest: "An unknown person approached the car and discharged a firearm hitting him in the head."

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as "gunshot to the head", she said.

The body of Mr Teoh, who lived in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, has been repatriated.

A full inquest hearing will take place after all the available evidence has been shared from Cape Town, the coroner said.

His colleagues have described the surgeon as a "rising star" who had an "exceptional mind".

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