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Picture: GETTY IMAGES
Picture: GETTY IMAGES

A Cape Town motorist with outstanding traffic fines of nearly R200,000 was arrested during an operation in the Mitchells Plain area last week and was unable to pay R18,000 bail.

He was joined behind bars in the past week by 285 suspects arrested during general operations by Cape Town’s enforcement agencies, said MMC for safety and security JP Smith.

Two motorists on the top-100 list of offenders were arrested during the operation on October 3 and had 87 warrants between them valued at R270,100, said Smith. A week earlier, two others were arrested with 43 combined warrants valued at R226,550.

That’s four motorists who have racked up just shy of R500,000 in unpaid fines, warrants and contempt of court penalties. They are poster children for that section of our motoring public who believe they can get away with their misdeeds,” said Smith.

“Hopefully this turn of events will make them reconsider. At least one of the four is behind bars at Pollsmoor after he couldn’t come up with the R18,000 bail amount.

“In the past year we have seen increased compliance from some motorists, but there are many scofflaws on our roads daily who think they are above the law. I hope the arrests serve as a cautionary tale.”

In general enforcement efforts in the past week, Cape Town traffic officers recorded 46,843 offences, executed 1,366 warrants of arrest and impounded 198 public transport vehicles.

They arrested 39 people, with 28 arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, four for reckless driving and seven for other transgressions.

Law enforcement officers made 157 arrests and issued 2,592 notices, while their metro police counterparts arrested 89 suspects, issued 2,224 fines and confiscated contraband items.

TimesLIVE


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