'Corrupt' cop gets R5 000 bail
2008-04-18 21:20
Johannesburg - A police officer - who allegedly tried to sell stolen goods to their rightful owner - appeared in the Lydenburg Magistrate's Court on Friday and was given R5 000 bail, Mpumalanga police said.
The case was postponed to May 28 for further investigation, spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said.
The 35-year-old constable was arrested at a Wimpy restaurant in Lydenburg on Thursday by undercover officers.
He was assigned to a copper cable theft case last week after a 42-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing cables from his employer, said 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."
The organised crime unit set a trap for the police officer, after the employer reported the matter to the police and accused them of being corrupt.
The employer was asked to take part in a trap by meeting the policeman for breakfast with two undercover officers at Wimpy restaurant 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.
- SAPA