Cape Town - The owner of a large transport company plans to tackle the City of Cape Town in court after he was fined for allegedly using water from a fire hydrant to hose down a truck.
A video showing Ismail Moosa, of Moosa’s Enterprise in Montague Gardens, in a verbal altercation with Law Enforcement officers over the fine was sent to the Daily Voice this week.
According to a well-placed source, Moosa’s workers were seen using a fire hydrant hose to clean ice at the back of a truck and they were reported.
“It happened on Monday, 5 March, just before 10pm,” the source says.
“The guys were using the hose with fresh drinking water to get rid of the ice. The truck was parked on the pavement outside the premises and the ice could be seen in the street.”
Three days later Law Enforcement officers on a water blitz showed up at the business in Kestrel Close to issue the owner a fine.
In the video, Moosa can be heard telling the officers to issue him a fine or take him to jail.
“No, they must give a fine and f***ing go, man. Do you think I am scared of you? If you want to lock me up, lock me up. Dink jy ek is bang vir a f***en tronk? Ek kom uit ’* f***en tronk uit, (Do you think I am scared of a jail cell? I come from prison)” he yells at officers.
Law Enforcement spokesperson, Wayne Dyason, confirms that the matter was reported to them and says: “The employees of the accused were washing vehicles with water obtained from the municipal supply via a fire hydrant.
“He was issued a R3 500 fine for washing of vehicles using municipal water and using water obtained from a fire hydrant for purposes other than extinguishing a fire.”
Dyason confirms it was fresh drinking water and says this is in contravention of Level 6B water restrictions.
However, Moosa says Law Enforcement officers got it wrong and he will be contesting the fine in court.
He claims he buys water that is kept in tanks and on the night in question, staff were removing eight tons of ice from a truck.
He says the red hose seen on the pictures is one of many at his business and is not an indication that water from a fire hydrant was being used.
“This matter has been handed over to my attorneys,” he said. “My staff had to remove eight tons of ice and the pipe was not on. It is connected to tanks that I have on my property which is water I buy.
“I will be spending R103 500 to contest this fine because they did not first ask questions. They just went on hearsay and did not come inside and see where the water is coming from.”