THE South African woman accused of smuggling cocaine in her dreadlocks to Thailand, will know her fate today.

The sentencing of Nolubabalo "Babsie" Nobanda will be handed down in a Thai court and she has admitted to authorities to smuggling drugs.

Nobanda of Grahamstown, in Eastern Cape, was arrested at Bangkok International Airport in December last year for attempting to smuggle cocaine from Brazil to Thailand.

Police found 1.5kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of $150,000 (R1.2-million) in her dreadlocks.

She admitted to authorities that she smuggled the drugs, and said she was hired to deliver the cocaine to a customer at a hotel in Bangkok. Since then she has been detained in prison.

Yesterday, her mother Honjiswa Mbewu said neither she nor the legal adviser would be travelling to Bangkok to attend the judgement to day.

"I had to cancel my journey to that country because my doctor has indicated that I suffer from acute stress and may not be fit to travel," she said.

Her safety was another reason for cancelling the trip, she asserted.

"The syndicate which led Nobanda to Brazil had not yet been arrested by the South African authorities."

She has also received threatening comments on social networking site Facebook.

"Some people are even posting scary stuff on Facebook, which is an indication that it is not safe for me to travel to Thailand."

Mbewu said the South African embassy in Thailand had contacted her.

"They said South African diplomats would be present in court on Monday [today] to observe the court proceedings and would give feedback to the family."

Nobanda would be represented by a Bangkok state lawyer.