News

Forced to pay ‘fine’ at roadblock

A woman complained of being pulled over and being falsely accused of an outstanding fine at a roadblock in Middelburg over the December holidays.

January 20, 2019

Jana Boshoff 2 minutes read

The woman, who requested for her name to be withheld, said that she was told she had an outstanding fine of a year old. She insisted that she had paid the fine, but did not have the proof of payment with her in the vehicle. She was forced to pay the fine again or face arrest.

She later returned to the roadblock with her proof of payment and was referred to the municipality.

What prompted the woman to contact the Middelburg Observer was that she was told she would not be able to get refunded immediately and that her refund will only be done by cheque.

“What if I did not have the means to go without that money for a month or more? Why must I be inconvenienced because of a fault on the municipality’s side, by taking time off work to come and collect my cheque and then queuing at the bank to deposit it?” the woman wanted to know.

Municipal Manager Bheki Khenisa said that the Steve Tshwete Municipality’s Deputy Director of Traffic Services apologised to the woman for the inconvenience caused. He said that the Finance Department was in the process of finalising the refund.

On questions by residents about the legality of arrests at roadblocks, Mr Khenisa said that a Section 56 notice is issued to traffic offenders. This serves as a summons to appear in court. If an offender pays a fine within an allocated payment date, then the payment will be regarded as settlement.

Failure to pay the fine until the court date, as indicated on the notice, will result in the issuing of a warrant of arrest, and a contempt of court fine will be added to the initial fine amount.
He said that each person arrested at a roadblock will be shown the actual warrant of arrest.

Mr Khenisa admitted that on rare occasions there might be a fault in the system and that residents have an obligation to prove their case.