Johannesburg – Former police detective Thabo Ezekiel Maputla, 53, was found guilty yesterday of corruption by the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Maputla is currently serving a jail term in an unrelated corruption case.
On August 25, 2014, Maputla, who was a detective warrant officer at SAPS Westenburg, contacted four suspects in a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm that he was investigating.
When the suspects arrived at Westenburg police station, Maputla told them they were under arrest, but they could pay R500 each for “bail”.
“The suspects paid a total of R2 000 to Maputla while they were still kept in the police holding cells. On the very same day, Maputla booked out one of the suspects for ‘investigation’ and they went to his house where he demanded a further R2 500 ‘bail’ from his wife.
“The money was paid to Maputla and they went back to the police station. When they arrived at the police station, Maputla released all the four suspects and issued them with bail receipts of R500 each,” Hawks police spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said.
The matter was reported to the police and Maputla was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation members after conducting a thorough investigation.
Maputla will be sentenced on February 7.
The Star