Pressed by cops, reckless taxi driver says driver’s licence belongs to his brother in Zimbabwe
A 35-year-old taxi driver was arrested on charges of reckless and negligent driving, and fraud, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) said.
EMPD spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said the 35-year-old man was driving a Toyota Quantum Ses’fikile minibus taxi.
Thepa said after the taxi driver was stopped for reckless driving, it was also discovered that the drivers licence he produced did not belong to him.
“On Friday, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department’s Tembisa precinct officers arrested an undocumented 35-year-old motorist, for reckless and negligent driving, in the Tembisa area,” said Thepa.
“Officers patrolling on Andrew Mapheto Drive noticed a white Toyota Quantum Ses’fikile minibus taxi driving inconsiderably, disobeying road traffic signs, near the Isangweni taxi rank. A chase ensued and the male driver stopped at the robot (traffic light) next to the Mpho Bridge at Mpho Section,” Thepa said.
“It is alleged that when approached, the suspect produced a fake driver’s license with a photo that was not of him. When asked, the suspect confessed that the license belonged to his brother who is in Zimbabwe.”
The taxi driver was immediately handcuffed and detained at the Rabasotho police station, facing charges under the Immigration Act plus reckless and negligent driving.
Police said the motorist also faces additional charges of fraud.
The Toyota Quantum minibus taxi was taken to Tembisa EMPD precinct for further investigations.
Last year, IOL reported that the EMPD had arrested a Zimbabwean man, working as a taxi driver, for possession of a fake driver’s licence after he was stopped for reckless driving in Tembisa.
At the time, EMPD spokesperson Constable Marie Mashishi said the driver was stopped after he sped towards oncoming traffic in an attempt to overtake a funeral convoy in the presence of police officers.
“While officers were busy with the funeral escort, from Tembisa to the Mooifontein cemetery, they noticed a white Toyota Quantum minibus taxi with one male occupant, unsafely overtaking the hearse and facing oncoming traffic on Andrew Mapheto Drive near the Tembisa Plaza,” Mashishi said at the time.
IOL