Provincial traffic cop accused of taking bribe

Joseph Williams, 46, of Chevrot Street, Atlantis in the Western Cape, appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

In February last year, he pleaded not guilty to a single charge of corruption, and at Wednesday’s brief proceedings, he was warned to appear in court again on April 3.

According to the charge sheet, in September 2014 he stopped a car in Goodwood, one of Cape Town’s northern suburbs, because the driver, Pieter Bruwer, and his wife were not wearing seat belts.

According to the charge sheet, he told Bruwer and his wife that he was obliged to fine them R500 each for the offence.

Bruwer apologised for their oversight, and Williams produced his ticket book to show the couple the number of fines that he had already issued for failure to wear seat belts.

Prosecutor Ezmeralda Johnson alleges that Williams then asked Bruwer what he was going to do about it, and Bruwer, in turn, asked Williams what he meant.

When Williams repeated the question, Bruwer realised that Williams was asking for a bribe so as not to issue the two tickets, and he offered Williams R200, which Williams accepted, it is alleged.

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.