Pretoria - A Centurion couple have laid criminal charges of extortion and corruption against at least seven members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD), who allegedly solicited a R12 000 “spot fine” in exchange to not have the pair arrested.
The couple, Yolande and Neels Groenewald, claimed the incident took place on August 22 when they were driving back home from a late-night school function in Pretoria.
The Groenewalds were in the company of their son, 14. They said they were pulled over on the R21 off-ramp by a group of seven TMPD officers. The metro police threatened to arrest them if they failed to pay a ‘spot fine’ of R12 000, they said.
The family was last week assisted by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit to lay criminal charges of extortion and corruption at the Lyttelton police station against the implicated officers.
They described the incident as traumatic to them, most especially to their son.
Yolande said: “We laid charges because we felt it could no longer go on like this. The metro police subjected us to a night of terror. This is not how police officers should behave.”
Adviser at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, Natasha Venter, said the officers threatened that they would lock up Neels, who was driving, and would only release him on Wednesday. She said the officers also conveyed the message to his wife and child, who were waiting in the car in the pitch-dark night.
“It was extremely traumatic for this family to learn that the ‘gang of officers’, none of whom wore visible name tags, would lock up Neels. The female officer apparently said she would drop Neels’ family off at their home as a ‘favour’.”
She said the family’s traumatic experience didn’t end there as “the gang of officials” then allegedly said if Neels paid a “spot fine” of R12 000, they would let him go.
AfriForum said the female officer allegedly demanded Neels immediately transfer R3 000 electronically to a certain number to ensure the investigation against him “disappears”.
Neels then had to drive to two different ATMs to withdraw the remaining R9 000 and hand it over to the officers. Only then did the gang give him back his licence, and he and his family could go home.
Venter said people were too afraid to drive at night “because the people supposed to ensure our safety on the roads behave like gangsters and pose the greatest threat to motorists”.
“I suspect very few people at present who would say they feel comfortable seeing metro police officers on the side of the road. It often instils fear in motorists when they are pulled over – even if they have done nothing wrong. The only way to stop this behaviour is by people like the Groenewalds standing up against these blatant extortion tactics.”
Metro police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba, did not respond to a request for comment at the time of going for publication yesterday. Venter said AfriForum was working with the City to identify the suspects. “There will be an internal investigation as well, as they weren’t wearing name tags on the night in question. AfriForum and the Groenewalds welcome the internal investigation and will give our full cooperation to ensure they are identified.”
Pretoria News