Alleged Casanova con man Rudi Brits stormed out of the Stellenbosch magistrate’s court on Friday after being told he would stay in holding cells and not be taken to Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town.

The 41-year-old, who allegedly spent a decade befriending wealthy women before stealing from them, alleged that Stellenbosch police station commander Col Deon Beneke had “influence” in the town and would know who his visitors were.

Giving evidence in Brits’ bail application, Beneke held up a map of SA taped to a large piece of cardboard and pointed to red dots across several provinces.

These, he said, were locations where Brits had racked up an extensive criminal record, including four arrests for illegal hunting.

In a statement after his arrest in November, police said Brits befriended women on social media, then began romantic relationships.

“After moving in with the victims, he would borrow substantial amounts of money from them and disappear with the money and expensive household goods,” they said.

One of his alleged victims was Stellenbosch office manager Adri van Lill, 57, whom he met on Facebook before moving into her flat and allegedly stealing two laptops.

Brits said the case was the result of a “lovers’ spat”, but outside court Van Lill laughed off the claim. “There was nothing romantic between us. I’m a short, fat woman and he is bald,” she said.

“We both joked that these are not desirable traits for either of us. The thing that got me about him was the food. He really did make the best food at the start. Every evening when I came home from work there was a pot of food waiting, and a glass of bubbly too.”

Brits faces another charge for allegedly threatening Van Lill in court in contravention of an interdict. During a previous appearance he spoke to her while entering the dock, saying “Jy gaan k*k”.

Brits claims to be a professional hunter but Beneke said that no statutory or regulatory hunting body in SA or other African countries where he organised trips for wealthy overseas clients recognised him.

He said Brits’ claim that he needed bail to tend to his businesses was not true. “These businesses only exist on paper. They have no staff and no cars,” he said.

The case was postponed until Monday, with the court deciding Brits should be kept in Stellenbosch holding cells to make it easier to transport him to court on Monday.

Brits asked to be sent to Pollsmoor instead, saying he feared Beneke’s influence. When his request was denied, he left the dock shaking his head.