A former South African Police Service (SAPS) officer has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment after being convicted on multiple corruption-related charges in the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court.

Ralston Petersen, a former police officer with 16 years’ service, was convicted on eight counts, including four counts of corruption, two counts of fraud, forgery, and defeating the administration of justice.

The court ordered several of the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective six-year prison term. Petersen was also ordered to pay R800, identified as proceeds of corrupt activities, in terms of Section 18 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

The case was initially set down for plea and trial between October 6 and 9, 2025, but Petersen submitted a written guilty plea in terms of Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act on October 7, 2025. He was convicted on all charges based on this plea.

According to Senior State Advocate Delano Coerecius of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit in George, Petersen was working as a court orderly at the time of the offences. In April 2020, he approached a motorist, Izaakir Choonara, who had received a R3,000 traffic fine for breaching Covid-19 regulations while travelling on the N2 near Sedgefield.

Petersen told the complainant he could “sort out” the fine in exchange for money. Although no payment was made initially, Petersen met Choonara again in September 2020, where he discussed additional traffic fines and accepted R800 in cash, later requesting a further R600.

Between late September and early October 2020, Petersen prepared written representations on behalf of the complainant and submitted them to a prosecutor handling traffic offences. During this process, he forged the complainant’s signature, falsely claiming he was merely assisting him. He also manipulated traffic documents by inserting handwritten amounts to give the impression that fines had been reduced, misleading the complainant into believing the payments were legitimate.

In reality, no lawful payments were made toward the fines. Petersen kept the money for personal gain, while the court later reduced the fines through proper legal processes.

The State argued that Petersen abused his position of authority, deliberately misled both the complainant and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and exploited the complainant’s fear of legal consequences and lack of knowledge about lawful payment procedures. His conduct, the prosecution said, showed planning, persistence, dishonesty and greed, and severely undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system.

IOL

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