Pretoria - National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega has welcomed the conviction of two men by the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court for attempting to bribe the Diepsloot police station commander.
The two men were caught by anti-corruption investigators early last month in Colonel Amos Balatse’s office immediately after they handed R5 000 to the colonel.
The money was meant to be shared with his fellow officers, who were involved in the facilitation of a dispute involving a local church.
In return, the station commander and his subordinates were supposed to take sides in the matter.
In congratulating Balatse and the investigators from the Gauteng anti-corruption unit, Phiyega on Thursday said: “This conviction will go a long way in clearly illustrating the fact that we have men and women in blue, whose chief motivation for being in the SAPS is to serve.
“Of course the popular narrative in South Africa is that of police officers accepting bribes, while those doing the bribery usually get away with it. It is a two-way street and we are committed to deal decisively with the briber and the one accepting the bribe,” Phiyega said.
The two were sentenced to 12 months in prison or a R5 000 fine.
The sentence, Phiyega said, will serve as a strong warning to any person with corrupt tendencies “that our police officers are not up for sale”. - SAnews.gov.za
