Details emerge how cops 'doctored crash report to conceal bribe'

The Orlando Magistrate’s Court heard of how four Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers doctored an accident report form to conceal taking a bribe.

This emerged during the trial of Thobile Baloyi, 31, Thapelo Masege, 31, and Tebogo Lesiamo, 33, and Mbulelo Mhaka. the latter has since died.

They are accused of corruption and defeating the ends of justice after they accepted a R4 000 bribe following a 2014 accident in Orlando before tinkering with an accident report.

One of the people who testified was Superintendent Christopher Netshipepe, a JMPD internal investigations unit member, who told the court how the four were arrested.

“The three accused had recorded an accident on Thabo Mooki Street involving a Toyota Aygo and a Rea Vaya bus. The report I got from the radio room was that the accident was not reported, but the accident room furnished me with a copy.”

The superintendent with 15 years experience said the report consisted of key omissions. 

“After going through the form I realised that officer Baloyi did not include all the details for the Aygo; he did not include the licence disk number.” 

Netshipepe said that in light of this lack of information, the driver should have been issued with a ticket, be summoned to appear in front of a court and for his vehicle to be impounded, as a report cannot be filed without that information. 

However, the report lacked proof that any of those steps were followed.

He then called both drivers who were involved in the accident to verify whether an accident had taken place, but could only reach the Rea Vaya driver.

“The Aygo driver’s phone was off so I went to his house and I could not find him. I also received that his vehicle was reported stolen, so I went to Kliptown police station to verify it, but was told the vehicle belonged to Southern Toyota, a dealership in Lenasia.”

He said he found the vehicle at the dealership, but it had no damages and had a licence disk. 

“An employee at the dealership told me that the vehicle had been there for over seven days and was never involved in an accident.”

The officer then went to Baloyi’s house to question him. Baloyi appeared shocked, but said Lesiamo would be able to provide him with further information.

Netshipepe said Lesiamo told him they could not meet.

“Baloyi then took me to Mhaka’s house because Mhaka checked the vehicles at the scene and discovered that it was stolen with a case number in Florida.” 

Netshipepe said following the accident the accused allegedly negotiated with the driver of the Aygo who told them to follow him to his Eldorado Park home where he gave them R4 000.

He said that while questioning them the three took him to a scrapyard in Zondi where an Aygo with the same registration number as the one in Lenasia was found, but he could not access the scrapyard.

“I had the three arrested at Orlando police station after I discovered that they failed to act on allegations that there were drugs in the vehicle, that it was stolen and that they failed to arrest the driver and impounded the vehicle.” 

Magistrate Mohammed Juma postponed the trial until October 30 to allow the accused's defence to peruse the docket.