Extortion: Airport cops get bail

2012-01-17 13:44

Johannesburg - Four police officers charged with extorting money from a Ghanaian man at OR Tambo International Airport have been granted bail, police said on Tuesday.

The four were arrested on Thursday and appeared in an after-hours court on Friday, said Colonel Vishnu Naidoo.

Sergeant Tiisetzo Hector Kekwe, 34, and constables Khulani Abby Lalulekhe, 29, Onkaetse Buffalo Loedeo, 37, and William Matabal Mahoro, 32, were each granted bail of R1 000.

They were expected to appear again in the Kempton Park Regional Court on February 7, said Naidoo.

Police stopped the Ghanaian man in the airport's international arrivals hall on January 1 and asked him to produce an invitation to South Africa.

He showed them his passport and visa and said he did not need a letter of invitation.

The police then allegedly demanded $100 (about R804) from him and threatened him with deportation.

When he told them he had $50 (about R402), they ordered him to convert it into rands and hand it over to them.

He reported the matter to the OR Tambo Police Station and an inquiry was initiated, said Naidoo, who appealed to the public to report similar abuse to the police.

- SAPA