Case against 8 police officers accused of extortion postponed
The group made their first court appearance at the Cape Town Regional Court on Wednesday.
Picture: @SAPoliceService/X
CAPE TOWN - The case against eight police officers accused of extortion has been postponed to October 22 for bail application.
The group made their first court appearance at the Cape Town Regional Court on Wednesday.
The officers attached to the Public Policing Order Unit were nabbed on Sunday while on duty in Milnerton.
The seven males and one female officer are accused of extorting money from a Chinese shop owner in Milnerton.
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The court has heard that a former policeman and two civilian women - linked to the case - will also be appearing before the same court later on Wednesday.
The court also heard that the group went to the shop and searched the premises without a search warrant.
The State says the accused threatened the Chinese shop owner believed to be an illegal immigrant with arrest if he didn't pay them.
It's believed that the officers were paid an amount of R28,000 before leaving the scene.
They're facing charges of extortion, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the ends of justice, and using a State vehicle without permission.
Meanwhile, the State said it would oppose bail when policemen linked to an extortion case in Cape Town appear in court again.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila: "We will be coming back on the 22nd of October for bail application which we will be opposing because we believe it is a schedule 6 bail application. One of the lawyers has indicated that he will oppose the bail certificate, which is the schedule of the bail application."
He further explained what a schedule six means: "It means that the onus is on the accused to show to the court that it is in their interest to be released on bail. But if you shift the schedule to maybe Schedule 1, then the onus changes to be on the shoulders of the state to show that it's not in the interest of the accused to be released on bail."