Salim Mehajer denies breaching bail by emailing his wife

Salim Mehajer has denied emailing his estranged wife from an email address he previously used to contact police, in what would be a breach of his strict bail conditions.

The former Auburn deputy mayor has also denied breaking his nightly curfew, saying he could have been in the shower when police allege they knocked on his door after 10pm on December 2 and he didn’t answer.

‘Of course I was home,’ Mehajer told Burwood Local Court in Sydney on Thursday.

Salim Mehajer has denied emailing his estranged wife from an email address he previously used to contact police, in what would be a breach of his strict bail conditions

A police prosecutor questioned the 31-year-old about his adherence to his strict bail conditions as Mehajer made a failed application to have them varied so he could fulfil work duties.

His latest bail was imposed in November after he was charged with dangerous driving and breaching an apprehended violence order, which had been sought by police for the protection of his estranged wife, Aysha Learmonth.

Mehajer said the recent email to Ms Learmonth was sent from a company email address, not a personal one, and he wasn’t responsible for it.

‘I didn’t know this email was sent until today,’ he said.

He told the court he didn’t report to a police station on time on December 1 because of ‘an issue that unfolded’ with a gate to his property which left him stuck.

Mehajer was seeking several bail changes, including that his nightly curfew be removed along with the requirement for him to report to police three times a week.

The former Auburn deputy mayor has also denied breaking his nightly curfew, saying he could have been in the shower when police allege they knocked on his door after 10pm on December 2 and he didn't answer

The former Auburn deputy mayor has also denied breaking his nightly curfew, saying he could have been in the shower when police allege they knocked on his door after 10pm on December 2 and he didn’t answer

'Of course I was home,' Mehajer told Burwood Local Court in Sydney on Thursday. Pictured, Mehajer's home in Vaucluse

‘Of course I was home,’ Mehajer told Burwood Local Court in Sydney on Thursday. Pictured, Mehajer’s home in Vaucluse

In lieu of these conditions, his sister was willing to offer a $50,000 surety.

The court heard Mehajer had been made a building manager for Lidcombe’s Skypoint Towers unit block in September and needed to oversee residents’ maintenance needs at all times of the day.

But magistrate Joy Boulos said he would have known his work requirements when he applied for bail last month and it was his lawyer who proposed the conditions he now wanted to alter.

‘I find it difficult to understand how a businessman of Mr Mehajer’s standing does not have an appointed strata manager to oversee all the development sites,’ the magistrate added.

The allegations against Mehajer were serious and no amount of money for surety would be sufficient to vary the bail she had set, Ms Boulos concluded.

 

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