A foreign woman, who allegedly defrauded a hotel in Morningside through an unpaid hotel bill of about R140 000, was remanded in custody by the Alex Magistrates’ Court on 12 June pending further investigations.
The suspect, who promised to pay for her stay through a transfer from a foreign account, allegedly accumulated the bill from 22 March until 9 May, when she was arrested.
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She was checked in by a male, who is now wanted by the police. The man handed the hotel documents, allegedly as proof of a transfer of R53 550 he claimed had been deposited into the hotel’s bank account.
He further claimed the amount would appear in the account after some days. When this didn’t happen, he allegedly requested an extension of time, claiming there had been some hitches. After some time, when the payment failed to appear in the account, he presented other documents to support his plea for her extended stay.
The hotel then approached the woman who allegedly promised the payment would be routed through her account.
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She arranged for a purported relative to vouch for her through a written affidavit. During police investigations, it was found the relative had left the place where he had been staying several months back.
After she again failed to pay, she was arrested on 9 May.
