Travel agent Premila Shunmugam, who stands accused of defrauding clients of hundreds of thousands of rand, will return to the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court in February for further investigations into her alleged crimes.

The 57-year-old of Silver Touch Events in Greenstone Hill was granted bail of R100 000 on December 23 after facing three counts of fraud totalling R400 000.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana stated that the accused allegedly employed the same method in July 2025 to defraud multiple clients who had approached her to book luxury trips abroad.

“After agreeing on the arrangements, the complainants transferred funds to the accused, who then failed to provide the services and did not refund the money. The victims subsequently reported the matter at various police stations,” she explained.

Mahanjana said that the accused eventually went to Wierdabrug Police Station on December 8 to provide a statement, but was arrested after police questioned her about the allegations.

During the bail proceedings, the state opposed her release when prosecutor Chris Marumap presented an affidavit from the investigating officer, Sergeant Martin Malapela.

The affidavit highlighted that Shunmugam is not a first-time offender, noting a previous conviction for fraud in 2006.

It also revealed that there are currently 37 dockets open against her, both in Gauteng and across the country. In addition to this, she had failed to provide the police with her new address after relocating.

“However, the magistrate said that even though the accused has several dockets opened against her, she has not been charged yet and that having one previous conviction does not mean that she has a propensity to commit crime. Therefore, he found exceptional circumstances to release the accused on bail,” said Mahanjana.

She confirmed that the matter was postponed to February 18, 2026, for further investigations.

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