A man who offered a high court clerk a R200 bribe to fast track his case was handed a R20,000 fine.
The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) said Edward Christopher Abraham, 38, was sentenced at the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Friday.
He was facing a charge of corruption.
“His conviction originates from an incident which took place during June 2021, where Abraham approached an Administration Clerk at the Bloemfontein High Court and offered him R200 gratification to fast track his defaults judgments for approval,” said Hawks spokesperson in the Free State, Captain Christopher Singo.
He said the matter was reported to the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein.
“A sting operation was then conducted at the Bloemfontein High Court on August 18, 2021, where Abraham was arrested after paying gratification of R200 to the complainant,” Singo said.
He said the provincial head of the Hawks in the Free State, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba, applauded the sanction given and urged people to refrain from offering gratification to officials.
In a separate incident, the Hawks in Gauteng said two Tshwane Metro police officers, aged 37 and 38, have been summoned to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on October 27 in relation to corruption charges.
“It is alleged that in August 2018, a motorist who was driving a vehicle with an expired licence disc was stopped by the Metro police officers in Diepsloot,” said Hawks Gauteng spokesperson Captain Bonnie Nxumalo.
“It was reportedly discovered that the disc is no longer valid and he was threatened with impoundment. A R1,500 gratification was allegedly demanded and paid to the officers. The motorist was further issued with an infringement notice.”
The incident was reported to the Diepsloot police and it was transferred to the Hawks for further handling.
IOL