The bogus doctor accused of contravening the Health Act was denied bail by magistrate Jaco du Plessis in the Springs Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
At the time of her arrest on October 29, she was accused of pretending to be a cardiologist and had offices in two different locations in Springs and did home visits.
The woman first appeared in court the following day and was granted R4 000 bail.
After failing to show for her next court appearance last Wednesday, a warrant of arrest was issued.
The woman handed herself in last Thursday and has since remained behind bars.
In a sworn affidavit presented to court for her bail hearing, the 35-year-old said she had a fixed address in Springs, has no children, was unemployed and single.
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She stated that even though she had family out of the province and country, she did not have a passport or assets out of the country and therefore was not a flight risk.
“I don’t have previous convictions or any pending matters against me,” said the accused.
She also indicated she intended to plead not guilty and that if granted bail, would return to court until the matter against her was finalised.
However, when the state prosecutor, Ralph Thwala, questioned the investigating officer, the picture that emerged was vastly different from that painted by the accused.
Sgt Leah Mtsweni said the accused arrived in Springs in May from Bellville in the Western Cape and stayed with her boyfriend and his relatives in Casseldale until the day of her arrest.
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Mtsweni said the accused stayed at the Selcourt address listed in her affidavit for three days and said the accused met the couple who sheltered her after she was released in the holding cells at the Springs Police Station.
The investigating officer was of the opinion that if the accused moved from the address she listed, she would be hard to track down.
It also emerged the accused is not a registered medical practitioner with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and was using the practice number of another doctor in Gauteng that had the same surname as her.
Additionally, Mtsweni testified that one of the patients who had been treated by the accused had suffered from complications that resulted in her leg being amputated.
“The accused also had two previous convictions against her, from 2011 and 2013.
“She was convicted of fraud in 2011 in Brackenfell and theft in 2013 in Belville,” said Mtsweni.
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Mtsweni said even if the court set stringent bail conditions for the accused, it would be dangerous to grant her bail.
Du Plessis agreed with Mtsweni and said due to the previous convictions the accused had against her, the likelihood of her repeating similar offences was high.
Additionally, the fact that the accused was from Cape Town and had only stayed at her listed addresses in Springs for a few months, or days, counted against her.
The case was postponed to December 9.
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