Durban - A taxi driver was sentenced to six months in jail on Monday for trying to bribe traffic officers with R200, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said in a statement.
The road safety agency said it welcomed the sentence, which was handed down at the Atteridgeville Regional Court in Pretoria.
Thabani Nqakula was arrested by members of the national traffic police (NTP) in January this year.
"He was stopped for driving an un-roadworthy vehicle on a public road. He offered the officers a R200 bribe to avoid receiving a traffic fine. He was arrested immediately and charged with bribery," said the RTMC.
Nqakula was sentenced to six months' imprisonment or a R3000 fine. He was further given a three-year sentence suspended for five years.
The NTP had arrested about 50 motorists since the beginning of the year for bribery and the cases were at various stages of prosecution in different Gauteng courts, according to the statement.
“This conviction will send a message to motorists that they can no longer break traffic laws with impunity. Our traffic officers are no longer prepared to have their good names tarnished by motorists who are not prepared to obey the rules of the road,” said RTMC CEO, Advocate Makhosini Msibi.
He called on traffic officers to show "zero tolerance to anyone who attempted to corrupt them".