IOL Salim Ismail has been granted bail after allegedly robbing a pensioner during their first date.
Image: Picture: Supplied / Reaction Unit South Africa
A 54-year-old KwaZulu man accused of robbing a pensioner on their first date has been granted bail.
Salim Ismail was released on R1,000 bail in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Ismail was arrested in early February and charged with theft.
He was in police custody for over two weeks.
Ismail is accused of meeting the 66-year-old woman on a dating site called Badoo.
He is further accused of picking up the woman from Isipingo and taking her to Galleria shopping mall where she withdrew her South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant.
The two drove to Hazelmere Dam and then when they stopped at a petrol station, it is alleged Ismail fled with the woman's bag and deleted his profile on Badoo.
He is accused of gambling the majority of the money and then using the rest to buy engine oil for his car.
Ismail was arrested at his mother's house in Chatsworth.
He told Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) that he decided to flee with her belongings when she allegedly requested financial compensation for her sexual favors.
The matter will return to court on March 26, 2025.
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