A court interpreter thought he could make a quick buck by allegedly extorting money from a friend of an arrested man, but it backfired.
Police arrested Zafar Khan, a Pakistani interpreter, at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, in a sting operation in Boksburg last week.
He is alleged to have demanded R25 000 from a friend of a Pakistani man applying for bail, promising to secure his release.
Police caught Khan, also originally from Pakistan, red-handed with R10 000 he had received from Hafiz Saddiq.
Saddiq, a Pakistani activist, told the man he could only afford R10 000 of the R25 000 he had demanded.
Agreeing to accept R10 000, Khan allegedly met at a Burger King in Boksburg to hand over the money. Unbeknown to him, the police’s Anti-Corruption Unit had been tipped off about this transaction.
The unit pounced on Khan just as he was leaving the Burger King. He was detained at a police station in Boksburg North and appeared in the local court, where he was granted bail on Friday.
Captain Juanita Coetzer, the police’s spokesperson in Boksburg North, confirmed the arrest. “The 39-year-old male has been arrested for corruption,” she said.
“Apparently he told the brother of a suspect in a Johannesburg court that 'if you give me cash, your brother will be set free'."
Khan confirmed in his statement to police that he was a court interpreter, said Coetzer.
Speaking to The Star, Saddiq said the interpreter first approached him in court after his friend’s bail application was postponed.
Saddiq said the man told him that R15 000 of the sum he demanded would go to a prosecutor, who would not oppose bail in return.
“He met me at the court and demanded money. I told him ‘no, we’ve got a lawyer’.
“He told me a lawyer will not do anything because he’s the boss in the court,” said Saddiq.
The pair then exchanged contact numbers.
“He called, telling me the prosecutor is his friend, as he has been an interpreter at the court for a long time.”
Saddiq said Khan would not back down on the demand.
“He said if you don’t pay me, (your friend) will stay inside and he’ll not appear for his case until next year.”
Saddiq’s friend subsequently got bail of R5 000 on Wednesday. “He got released just a day after (the interpreter) was arrested,” said Saddiq.