Father and son car dealers granted bail after allegedly kidnapping two boys, killing one

A father and son duo facing charges of murder have been granted bail in the Vereeniging Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Shafic Ismael (64) and his son Bilal Ismail (39) from Roshnee near Vereeniging, were granted bail of R20 000 each.

They are facing a charge of murder, attempted murder, and two counts of kidnapping two minor boys aged 9 and 12 years-old.

It is alleged that on 22 March 2022, in the evening, the two minor boys were caught by a security guard, while trying to break into a motor dealership in De Deur owned by the father and son.

The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Lumka Mahanjana said after being locked up in a room by the security guard, Bilal came with his father and assaulted the two minor boys, with the assistance of the security guard.

“Later that night, they dumped the minors at the Meyerton dumping site. The next morning, the seriously injured 9-year-old boy was found on the street in Meyerton, by a man who was on his way to work and taken to the police station.”  

“When the police went back to the dumping site, they found the lifeless body of the 12-year-old boy. Bilal was arrested on 26 March 2022 and his father was later arrested on 7 April 2022.”

Mahanjana said that during the bail application, the state asked the court to deny the two accused bail, because of the seriousness of the crimes committed and emphasizing that the crimes are horrific, cruel and violent especially committed toward two small helpless kids. 

“The prosecutor also told the court that the state had a strong case against the accused, however, the magistrate granted them bail, with conditions that the accused should report to the De Deur Police station every Friday and they are not allowed to leave the jurisdiction of Vereeniging.”

Mahanjana said both father and son were also ordered to hand in all their passports to the investigating officer and should have no contact with the witnesses directly or indirectly.

The matter has been postponed to 24 June 2022 for further investigations. 

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