Driver takes one last sip before being handcuffed

By Kaya 959 News

A driver who was pulled over at a roadblock in Cape Town on Monday left Metro Police officers gobsmacked by his behaviour.

Officers had set up a checkpoint on the corner of Saxdowne and Hindle Roads. They pulled over a motorist and noticed an open brandy bottle between his legs. As they approached him he took one last swig from the bottle.

While the officers were interviewing the motorist, they noticed that the driver was unsteady on his feet and the 29-year-old was arrested for drunk driving and taken to Mfuleni police station.

“This level of brazenness cannot be tolerated and I hope that the court takes his behaviour into consideration when deciding on a punishment.

“We continue to see too many people with a total disregard for the law which jeopardises public safety, and only harsh consequences from the courts for their actions will turn this tide,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

He said elsewhere, Metro Police officers arrested 65 suspects and issued 3 638 fines.

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Man cheats on learner’s licence test

Meanwhile, a Dunoon man was caught red-handed trying to cheat on his learner’s licence test by hiding his crib notes up his sleeve.

A vigilant examiner at the Milnerton Traffic Department saw the 28-year-old man acting suspiciously and witnessed him copying answers from a piece of paper.

When the examiner approached him, he placed the paper in his sleeve and denied allegations of cheating.

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However, when he was asked to stand up, the piece of paper slid out of his sleeve.

The applicant was removed from the class and taken to the Milnerton police station where he was charged with fraud.

Smith said learner licence applicants are informed prior to the test that it is an offence to use any unauthorised aid and that they can be convicted and disqualified from reapplying for a learner’s licence for a period of 12 months.

“The easy way out can lead to a much harder road ahead as the cheater can end up with a criminal record,” he said.

60 221 Fines issued

The City’s Traffic Service also arrested 80 suspects, impounded 169 vehicles and 186 cell phones, and issued 60 221 fines.

A drag racing operation in Durbanville netted 15 suspects of which 13 were driving under the influence of alcohol, while a similar operation in the Eerste River and Bellville areas led to the arrest of eight people – four of whom were under the influence.

Efforts during the past week resulted in 48 arrests and 4 055 notices issued.

Officers deployed in terms of the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) continue to make inroads.

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In a separate incident, EAP officers in Atlantis were doing stop and search patrols in Heathfield Court when they came across three men.

The men consented to being searched and a firearm was found on one of them.

He could not produce a permit and was arrested, while the pistol was confiscated.

Law Enforcement officers also arrested four suspects for cable theft – one in Bellville, two along Stellenbosch Arterial Road and one in Maitland.

Written by: Tamlyn

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