Durban doctor and bodybuilder Aadil Khan has successfully appealed his bail refusal in an assault case – despite already serving a correctional supervision sentence for beating his ex-wife in a previous matter – and after two cellphones were confiscated from him while he was in hospital being guarded by police.
Two sources told News24 that police had seized at least two phones from him over the past two months. They said he’d constantly phoned his ex-wife from the hospital bed and pleaded with her to help him with his case, brought by his current wife.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba confirmed police twice found phones in Khan’s possession.
Khan spent several weeks under medical supervision at a private hospital after his March arrest for allegedly assaulting his wife, and after the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court denied him bail in April.
At the time, the doctor was already serving an 18-month correctional supervision sentence, including house arrest, after a 2025 conviction involving his first wife, Melissa Symonds.
He had pleaded guilty to three counts of assault, the incidents having taken place in March 2022.
Symonds is to testify against him in the assault case of his current wife.
Khan was discharged from hospital on Thursday, the same day his legal team successfully appealed his bail refusal in the Limpopo High Court. Conditions of his release included that he have no direct contact with his wife, with his father acting as an intermediary on matters relating to child visitation and contact.
But his wife has accused the criminal justice system of failing both her and his previous wife.
“I now see why thousands of women remain silent through domestic violence,” she said. “Criminals seem to have more rights than victims in this country. It took everything within me to turn to the state for help, only to be let down.”
She added that she was afraid for the safety of her family, especially the children.
His ex-wife, Symonds, told News24 it was “deeply troubling” that Khan had been granted bail in the “interests of justice”, despite already pleading guilty and serving a sentence of house arrest.
“Releasing a convicted criminal who is already serving a sentence does not reflect justice, accountability, or the protection of victims. As the victim of this man, I feel failed by a system that is meant to protect and uphold justice,” she said.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Bodybuilder doctor accused of beating another wife
Doctor accused of violence, domestic abuse, by wife
Healthcare workers can play key role to help domestic abuse victims