Premila Shunmugam, a travel agent from Johannesburg, Gauteng, accused of defrauding clients of more than R5 million, will be able to spend Christmas and New Year at home after being granted bail of R100 000.
Shunmugam appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to hear the outcome of her bail application.
She was arrested in early December.
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The travel agent faces allegations of defrauding at least 50 families through her company, Silver Touch Events and Travel, by taking payments for overseas holiday trips that were never booked.
She is currently facing at least 37 criminal cases across multiple provinces, with 24 dockets still under investigation.
The state has described Shunmugam as a “repeated offender of fraud” due to a previous conviction.
Premila Shunmugam bail ruling
Reading his judgment, the magistrate noted that Shunmugam is presently facing three counts of fraud involving amounts of R174 500, R145 247, and R90 999.
He also acknowledged the state’s argument regarding Shunmugam’s previous conviction.
The state had further contended that her chronic illness was not relevant, as the defence had provided no supporting medical evidence.
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However, the magistrate dismissed the suggestion that Shunmugam would likely commit another fraud if released on bail.
“In my view, we cannot, on the basis of just one previous conviction, say a person has the propensity to commit offences because if we are talking of a propensity, we are talking about a tendency to do something,” he said.
The presiding officer also raised doubts about the relevance of the more than 30 cases still under investigation to the current proceedings.
“It is very clear from the evidence presented that the applicant has never been charged with the 37 cases referred to by the public prosecutor,” the magistrate said, adding that the planned arrest of Shunmugam on 18 December — the day of her bail hearing — had not occurred.
Postponement
Consequently, the magistrate granted Shunmugam bail of R100 000.
She subsequently handed over her passport to the prosecution in court.
The state suggested 18 February 2026 as the next court date to allow further investigations and the potential arrest and charging of Shunmugam in connection with the outstanding cases.
The matter was postponed to this date.
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