Corrupt cop busted in Mpuma

2008-04-17 20:18

Johannesburg - A police officer demanding R5 000 to make a copper cable theft docket disappear was arrested at a Wimpy restaurant in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga on Thursday, police said.

The 35-year-old constable was assigned to the case last week after a 42-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing cables from his employer, said spokesperson Captain Leonard Hlathi.

"He then contacted the employer offering to give him back the expensive cables for a fee. He also offered to make the case against the employee disappear."

In a rage, the employer contacted the police accusing them of being corrupt and the organised crime unit set a trap for the officer.

Hlathi said the employer was asked to take part in a trap by meeting the policeman for breakfast with two undercover officers at Wimpy in Lydenburg to hand over the cash.

The two female officers who sat at an opposite table arrested the man soon after he stashed the R5 000 he had requested in his back pocket.

He would appear in the Lydenburg Magistrate's Court on Friday, on a corruption charge.

- SAPA