Kar Hao Teoh, Essex surgeon, died from gunshot to the head

Kar Hao Teoh, 40, who worked at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, was a tourist in Cape Town when he was shot.

An inquest, which was opened and adjourned in Chelmsford on Thursday, heard he died on August 4 of a gunshot to the head.

Michelle Brown, area coroner for Essex, said: “On August 4, this 40-year-old was on holiday in South Africa with his family when an unknown person approached the car and discharged a firearm, hitting him in the head.”

Prestige - Mr Teoh won an international prize for his pioneering research into the treatment of ankle fractures (Image: Princess Alexandra Hospital)

A post-mortem examination carried out in South Africa recorded that Mr Teoh, of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, died of a gunshot to the head, Ms Brown said.

It is believed the husband and father had taken a wrong turn from a nearby airport when a group approached the vehicle he was in and shot him.

Unrest on the outskirts of South Africa’s second largest city began after minibus taxi drivers announced a week-long strike.

Ms Brown said Mr Teoh’s body has been repatriated to Essex.

Hearing - an inquest was opened and adjourned at Essex Coroner's Court (Image: Archant)

“The case will be adjourned off and will be heard at some point, depending on the time limits for the evidence to arrive from South Africa,” she said, adding the date for a full inquest hearing is to be confirmed.

Mr Teoh worked as a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

In a statement, the hospital said he was a “well-respected member of the team, valued colleague and friend to many across the hospital as well as in regional, national and international trauma and orthopaedic networks."

In 2021, Mr Teoh won an international prize for his pioneering research into the treatment of ankle fractures.

A post on the British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society’s website reads: "He was remembered by colleagues past and present as a kind, gentle person, a dedicated and talented surgeon."

South African police have opened a murder case into the shooting, which happened in the Nyanga township near Cape Town International Airport.