A criminal case against 54-year-old Salim Ismail, who was arrested after allegedly robbing a 66-year-old pensioner he had met on the dating application Badoo, has been withdrawn after the complainant accepted financial compensation through an Alternative Dispute Resolution process.
The matter was expected to proceed in the Verulam Magistrates Court in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, 31 July 2026, where Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) officers had been subpoenaed to testify in the robbery trial.
However, before proceedings could get under way, the complainant accepted R4 000 from Ismail through an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. The investigating officer then processed the withdrawal of the criminal case, and the trial did not proceed.
The case dates back to Wednesday, 5 February 2025, when Reaction Officers responded to a call for assistance from a 66-year-old grandmother at a service station north of Durban. The woman reported that she had allegedly been robbed by a man she had met on Badoo.
According to Reaction Unit South Africa, the pensioner informed officers that she had been communicating with Ismail for about three months before agreeing to meet him in person for the first time. Their conversations had later moved to WhatsApp after the pair exchanged contact numbers.
The woman told Reaction Officers that, during a conversation the previous evening, she had informed Ismail that she intended to withdraw her SASSA Old Age Grant as well as the grant belonging to her 84-year-old mother. Ismail then allegedly offered to collect her from her residence south of Durban and transport her to an ATM before they spent the day together.
After withdrawing the grants at Galleria Mall in Amanzimtoti, the pair travelled about 61 kilometres to Hazelmere Dam, where they spent nearly three hours together.
They later stopped at a service station. The pensioner exited the vehicle to use the ablution facilities, while Ismail allegedly told her that he was going to park the vehicle. Instead, he allegedly sped off with her handbag, which contained approximately R2 000 in cash, bank cards, her mother’s identity document and her cellphone.
The handbag was later recovered near Sibaya Casino.
First responders secured CCTV footage shortly after the incident. Despite alleged attempts to obscure the vehicle’s registration number, officers successfully identified the white Opel Corsa believed to have been used in the commission of the offence.
On Thursday, 6 February 2025, Reaction Officers conducted an extensive overnight investigation, searching several areas across eThekwini before locating the suspect vehicle in Montford, Chatsworth.
Officers proceeded to a residence, where Ismail was found in a bedroom and arrested without incident. He was then handed over to the South African Police Service.
During an interview, Ismail admitted fleeing with the complainant’s belongings after she exited the vehicle. He further alleged that they had engaged in consensual sexual intercourse at Hazelmere Dam and claimed he became upset after she requested financial assistance and mocked him regarding the use of a sex enhancement tablet.
Ismail also admitted that he drove to Sibaya Casino, where he gambled approximately R1 600 of the stolen cash before spending the remaining R400 on engine oil.
According to the account given to Reaction Officers, Ismail’s mother also informed them that he had concealed the complainant’s cellphone behind a built-in cupboard after noticing officers outside the residence.
Following his arrest, Ismail was held in custody for several days before appearing in the Verulam Magistrates Court on Monday, 10 February 2025, where he was granted bail.
The withdrawal of the case means the robbery trial will no longer proceed, after the complainant accepted the R4 000 compensation through the ADR process.
The incident has also placed renewed attention on the risks faced by elderly people using online dating platforms, particularly when meeting strangers in person and discussing personal finances or grant payments.
Authorities and safety organisations have repeatedly urged dating app users to exercise caution when arranging first meetings, to meet in public places, to inform relatives or friends of their whereabouts, and to avoid disclosing sensitive financial information to people they have not yet met in person.
In this case, the complainant had allegedly informed Ismail about her intention to withdraw both her own SASSA grant and that of her elderly mother before he offered to drive her to an ATM.
The matter, however, has now been concluded in court after the complainant accepted compensation and the investigating officer processed the withdrawal of the criminal case.
