Two days after a doctor was found dead at a lodge, the woman who was last seen with him allegedly went on a spending spree using his credit card.
She allegedly bought a double-door fridge, a washing machine, a bed and a carpet - all totalling R21000. She further withdrew R5000 to pay a deposit for an apartment she was going to rent in an estate.
Malibyane Maoeng, 26, appeared in the Benoni Magistrate's Court yesterday facing charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and fraud.
She was nabbed two weeks ago after being on the run from police for nearly a month.
She was last seen leaving a Sasolburg lodge with Highlands Park team doctor Godfrey Sankubele Dire's white Mercedes-Benz on June 30.
She was found at her newly rented place, Blue Lakes estate, in Benoni, where she apparently hid inside the base of her new bed which she cut open when police came knocking at her door.
Dire's daughter Nomava told Sowetan how police made a shocking discovery of Maoeng when they tried to move the bed.
"They went into her flat, looked for her but there was no one. When they tried to lift the bed, it felt unusually heavy. Then they heard her roll inside the base," said Nomava.
"Police have released the furniture she bought fraudulently to us and we also found out that she signed all purchases claiming to be my father's wife, using a fake name 'Zaza Dire' on the receipts from the stores she bought the goods from."
Dire, 62, from Sunward Park in Boksburg, was found dead at the Sasolburg lodge on June 30.
Doctor Godfrey Sankubele Dire's credit card used after death
Two days after a doctor was found dead at a lodge, the woman who was last seen with him allegedly went on a spending spree using his credit card.
She allegedly bought a double-door fridge, a washing machine, a bed and a carpet - all totalling R21000. She further withdrew R5000 to pay a deposit for an apartment she was going to rent in an estate.
Malibyane Maoeng, 26, appeared in the Benoni Magistrate's Court yesterday facing charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and fraud.
She was nabbed two weeks ago after being on the run from police for nearly a month.
She was last seen leaving a Sasolburg lodge with Highlands Park team doctor Godfrey Sankubele Dire's white Mercedes-Benz on June 30.
She was found at her newly rented place, Blue Lakes estate, in Benoni, where she apparently hid inside the base of her new bed which she cut open when police came knocking at her door.
Dire's daughter Nomava told Sowetan how police made a shocking discovery of Maoeng when they tried to move the bed.
"They went into her flat, looked for her but there was no one. When they tried to lift the bed, it felt unusually heavy. Then they heard her roll inside the base," said Nomava.
"Police have released the furniture she bought fraudulently to us and we also found out that she signed all purchases claiming to be my father's wife, using a fake name 'Zaza Dire' on the receipts from the stores she bought the goods from."
Dire, 62, from Sunward Park in Boksburg, was found dead at the Sasolburg lodge on June 30.
Maoeng allegedly drove his vehicle to Daveyton on the East Rand where she was renting with friends.
The car was later found in the possession of a couple - one of which is Maoeng's ex-boyfriend - three days after Dire's death.
The couple has since been granted bail.
Dire's car tracker was removed at an unknown place in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg.
Maoeng had allegedly lent her ex-boyfriend the same vehicle in July, two days after his death.
The ex-boyfriend took it for a spin around Daveyton before he was arrested the next morning with his girlfriend at a hotel in Benoni.
Police spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo confirmed Maoeng was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and fraud.
He said the fraud charge was added after police suspected that she had also used the credit card of the deceased doctor to purchase items that include furniture for her newly rented apartment that she moved into just two days after Dire's death.
The medic's cause of death is yet to be determined and police have opened an inquest into his passing.
Dire's family believes he might have been killed although police say they are still investigating an inquest.
The medic had just moved from Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom, Free State, to Sasolburg Hospital where he was working as a gynaecologist.
According to his family, he was attending an induction for his new job on the week that he checked in at the lodge and died.
Maoeng's case was postponed to Thursday for a formal bail application after she declined to be represented by a Legal Aid lawyer and opted to make arrangements with her private attorney.
An emotional Nomava said all she wanted was for all of this trauma to end so that they can find closure as a family.
"I just want justice to be served for my father and for him to rest in peace knowing we fought for him because his death has left us with a very deep wound and a big question mark," she told Sowetan.