Durban - An officer with the Road Traffic Inspectorate claims she has a criminal record for no reason and has turned to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to have it expunged after failing to get the criminal record centre to do so.
Sindiswe Ngidi said she was being unfairly labelled a criminal and this would impact on her career prospects.
On Tuesday, she asked for an order directing the minister of police to correct her record, but the case was adjourned to next month.
In 2004, she started working at the transport department as a traffic officer and in the same year had an argument with her boyfriend. He assaulted her and she picked up a stone and hit his vehicle.
He opened a case of malicious injury to property and she was arrested and detained, but released the same day when he withdrew the charge.
A few weeks afterwards, she was told to go to court for the charge to be formally withdrawn. She did and it was.
She found out during a routine check of records in 2008 that she had a criminal record.
“It came as a complete surprise to me because I had been advised that because the charge was withdrawn, there would be no criminal record against me,” she said.
What shocked her most was that the offence was stated as assault, when she was charged with malicious injury to property. Ngidi contacted the criminal record centre and informed them of the error. She was told it would be sorted out but she did not hear anything else from the centre.
Every time she inquired about the matter with the police, she was sent from “pillar to post”.
In 2011, her police clearance certificate returned with the same criminal record.
In September that year, she was asked not to wear her uniform until the matter was resolved.
Ngidi said a letter had been sent from the provincial police commissioner to the department saying her record had been corrected.
But in February this year, her record remained incorrect, which she said raised questions about what was going on with the police.
She said she had applied for a position as principal provincial inspector and was called for an interview. She was qualified for the job and there was a strong likelihood that she would be considered.
“The harm I anticipate is that I might be disqualified because of the incorrect and unwarranted criminal record.”
Ngidi said she had the right not to be unfairly labelled a criminal and that the record impacted on her future job prospects.
The Mercury