The Hawks working on corruption investigation made an arrested when a traffic officer was allegedly caught red handed accepting an R800 bribe. This is a significant arrest as any officer of the law that abuses power for personal gain is a serious matter.
The suspected traffic officer was posted by the weigh bridge just before the Middelburg Toll plaza on August 14. He was arrested after accepting the bribe during a sting operation set up by the Hawks. They apparently acted on a tip off and through further investigation by the unit led to the arrest.
The officer was charged and was set to appear in court for an initial hearing on Monday, August 15. The suspect has not yet pleaded and the hearing is simply to schedule a trial date. He was however granted R3000 bail.
Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, the provincial spokesperson for the SAPS said that this is not the first suspected traffic official they have arrested for bribery,
“It is
The Independent Police Investigations Directorate (IPID) which is also there to take complaints from the public and investigate possible corruption. It investigates any person’s complaint against both the SAPS and the metro police services.” Brig Mohlala concluded.
“Not only is corruption a challenge but perceptions that it somehow exists especially in traffic law enforcement affects government’s efforts to enhance and sustain road safety, therefore those who are involved should be severely punished,” said a statement from the Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe, “While not pre-empting on the outcome of the processes at hand, it is disturbing that while the majority of traffic officers and other law enforcers are hard at work, others would compromise all their hard work by requesting bribes,” added the statement.
In like of the recent event the MEC has encouraged traffic officers not to be discouraged by a few individuals but to instead work hard for the benefit of road safety in the province.
This is just one case of the law catching up to those who abuse it.
You can call 0861 400 800 (not toll free) to report fraud and corruption in government traffic activities.
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