Cape Town - A 23-year-old who tried to cheat his way to a learner’s licence on Friday morning wound up behind bars, along with 50 other suspects who got on the wrong side of the city’s Metro Police and Traffic Services over the weekend.
A sharp-eyed examiner at the Milnerton Driving Licence Testing Centre spotted the applicant copying from a piece of paper with the answers on it during the test; he’s the third applicant to be arrested at the Milnerton DLTC this year for the same offence, and he’ll face a charge of fraud.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said: “All the learner’s licence applicants are informed before the test that it is an offence to make use of any unauthorised materials and that doing so could result in charges being filed.
“The examiner is to be commended for her vigilance but, on the other hand, it’s difficult to understand why because the consequences are far worse than a failed learner’s test.”
'Reckless and negligent'
Traffic Services also arrested 27 motorists for offences including drunk driving and outstanding warrants, impounded 39 vehicles and issued 1736 fines. Metro Police, meanwhile, nabbed 12 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol, eight for being in possession of drugs, two for theft out of a motor vehicle and one suspect for theft of a motor vehicle - as well as issuing 1041 traffic fines and 58 by-law notices.
One driver also faces additional charges of reckless and negligent driving and attempted murder after trying to hit an officer with his vehicle while trying to escape from a roadblock in Lentegeur.
“Metro Police officers patrolling the R300 also came across a 12-year-old boy who was walking from Lentegeur to his mother’s home in Brackenfell,” Smith added. “The officers saw him safely home, but it worries me that he was out there on his own in the first place. I urge parents and caregivers to please be extra vigilant of the children in their care, the most vulnerable members of our community.”