POLOKWANE – A former Westenburg SAPS detective, Thabo Ezekiel Maputla (53) was been found guilty of corruption by the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday (February 1).

Maputla, who was a detective Warrant Officer, contacted four suspects for a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on August 25, 2014, that he was investigating.

Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said when the suspects arrived at the Westenburg Police Station, Maputla told them they were under arrest, but that they could pay R500 each for bail.

“The suspects paid a total of R2 000 to Maputla while they were still kept in the police holding cells. On the same day, Maputla booked out one of the suspects for ‘investigation’ and they went to his house where he demanded a further R2 500 from his wife. The money was paid to Maputla and they went back to the police station. He then released all four suspects and issued them with bail receipts of R500 each,” his statement read.

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The matter was reported to the police and Maputla was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation Unit after a thorough investigation.

Maluleke said Maputla is currently serving a jail term on another unrelated corruption case and will be sentenced on February 7.