Bribery, especially that of a law enforcement officer, is not only illegal and unethical, but can land someone in very hot water if attempted or executed.
For Nelson Mandela Bay MMC for Safety and Security, Lawrence Troon, the act of bribery, whether attempted of implemented, is unfortunately not a shock, since this was one of the challenges that law enforcement officers had to face during the Easter weekend traffic joint operations.
Troon explained that one person was arrested during these operations for bribery, but that there were several incidents where motorists thought that they could bribe their way out of situations, and this proved concerning.
According to Troon, this does not just happen over the Easter weekend, but also in general in the metro, which has led to a few arrests.
Troon said that he wants to reiterate and warn everyone that the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro will not stand for bribery in any form, whether it is active or passive bribery.
He explained that active bribery refers to the action of promising or giving the bribe, which means that the person that offers something is the person committing active bribery.
A passive bribe takes place when someone receives a bribe.
“Bribery happens when drivers get into difficulty and unfortunately it is no shock to me to hear about acts of bribery, because someone is trying anything that they can to get out of a certain situation,” said Troon.
“It is important to remember that bribery does not only come from the public but also from [law enforcement] officers, and as previously mentioned, it can take the form of active or passive bribery.
“The metro arrested one person for bribery over the Easter period, and a few arrests have been made with previous incidents where bribes were offered.”
He added that as long as there is no respect for the rules and laws of the road, the road will be an unsafe place.
“It is important for all road users to be aware of the dangers of corruption and to not endorse bribery through their own conduct.
“Since bribery is not only to be found in the actions of the official who asks for or receives the bribe or benefit, but also on the part of him who offers the bribe, everyone needs to tread lightly. The Nelson Mandela Bay Traffic and Licensing Services and Metro Police will not condone any bribery.”
Troon added that if a member of the public offers a bribe, or it comes to light that an official asked for or received a bribe, they will immediately be arrested and charged for the offence.
“The public must understand that any offer to any law enforcement official for that member to not carry out their mandate is a serious crime, and they will face the full might of the law.
“We want to warn our residents and the visitors that come into our metro that cases of bribery, as we saw [Easter weekend], will never be tolerated.”
