A 29-year-old Diepsloot woman who was arrested on June 7 for contravening the Disaster Management Act said she was seeking legal advice after two police officers allegedly forced her to pay a R2 500 fine.
The woman, Pretty Hadebe, alleged, “I was praying in the bush when a police vehicle with two officers came to arrest a group of people who were [praying together] in the bush. I saw a group of people being chased by police and I also tried to run.
“The police caught me and my [two-year-old] child and put us in the car and told me that I will have to pay a R3 000 fine for breaking Covid-19 rules. I told them that I only have R2 500 at home and we went to the house to get the money. I paid them and they left.”
She added that when her husband arrived home later, she told him what had happened to her. “He told me that I wasn’t supposed to give money to the police and we went to the police station to get clarity on why the police took the money and did not arrest me.
“The police officers who took the money had knocked off and they were [contacted]. They said they were arresting me because ‘I’m clever’. I went to court and the magistrate told me to go home.”
Diepsloot Police Station spokesperson, Captain Tinyiko Mathebula said, “The suspect was allegedly arrested for contravening Covid-19 regulations and bribing the police. She was allegedly found in the church in Ext 10 next to Diepsloot Mall. She allegedly bribed the police by giving them R500.
“The members who effected the arrest denied allegations of having taken or asked money from the suspect.”
