Johannesburg, May 6 (PTI): An Indian-origin professional cage fighter in South Africa has been charged with brutally murdering his 29-year-old wife by shooting her on the face in the couple's luxurious mansion.

Rameez Patel, appeared in a court yesterday, to appeal his bail application which was denied earlier this month.

During the hearing of the case, a police witness testified how he had come across the body of Patel's wife Fatima, mother of three boys, including a three-month old that she was breastfeeding, in the couple's luxurious mansion inSouth African Indian township of Nirvana, north of here, about three weeks ago.

Constable David Nkuna said Patel told him that thugs had broken into the house and murdered his wife, but no signs of forced entry were found and no items were reported missing from the house.

The policeman said Patel hugged his wife's body and left to take a bath at an uncle's house because he claimed that there was no water at his house.

Police also learnt later that Patel had instructed his maid earlier on the day of the murder to bring their children to his workplace.

Nkuna said he had noticed blood on the trousers that Patel had worn.

Nkuna said Patel had told him on the day of the murder that he had hurt a little finger while playing cricket, but contradicted this later, claiming it was a football injury.

The prosecution team asked for Patel to be kept in custody for his own safety after a number of death threats from the angry local community were reported.

They also opposed Patel's bail application, claiming that he was a likely flight risk.

The case has been postponed to May 7 and the accused person will remain in police custody until then.

Patel's shocked neighbours said he was a short-tempered man who often got into arguments.

One neighbour claimed that he had murdered an Ethiopian national earlier and had paid 50 000 rand in blood money to the man's family to avoid the matter being reported to police.