Two behind bars for bribe at roadblock

An alleged attempt to bribe a law-enforcement officer at a roadblock to avoid penalties for traffic law infringements landed two Windhoek men behind bars on Sunday night. The two, aged 36 and 20, were in a taxi pulled over during a routine vehicle check in Windhoek West after a volunteer from the Women and Men Network Against Crime noticed that the taxi’s licence had expired. The driver was also operating the taxi without a driver’s licence. When a police officer asked to see the licences, the driver offered him a N$100 note, while the passenger extended another N$100. The officer immediately alerted the commander of the roadblock about the bribe attempt, and the two suspects were arrested by the City Police. The chairperson of the Brakwater Neighbourhood Watch, Atousa Fischer-Buder, who carries out night operations in collaboration with the police, told Nampa that the two will appear in court later this week. “The investigating officer is currently busy with the case. The two will soon make their first appearance in court,” he said. Several housebreaking tools were confiscated from other vehicles during police operations aimed at fighting crime in the Khomas Region over the last few weeks. Several drivers were fined by the City Police’s traffic department for transgressions varying from driving without a driver’s licence to operating unroadworthy vehicles. The joint operation by members of Nampol, neighbourhood watch members from various residential areas and volunteers of the Women and Men Network Against Crime started mid-December, and will continue until sometime in January 2015. WINDHOEK NAMPA