Nis Driver Caught Drunk, Offered Police a Bribe, Then Fled
A driver in Nis refused a breathalyzer and offered cash to officers to drop the procedure, then fled by car after the bribe was rejected, but was soon arrested.
- Police in Nis stopped a driver of an Audi A6 who was visibly intoxicated.
- The suspect refused a breathalyzer test and offered officers cash to drop the procedure.
- After the bribe was rejected, he fled by car but was soon arrested.
- He was held for up to 48 hours and is being handed, with a criminal complaint, to the Higher Public Prosecutor in Nis.
Police in Nis arrested a man on Sunday afternoon who is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and then attempting to bribe the officers who stopped him. The suspect is D. M. (born 1988) from Nis, found behind the wheel of an Audi A6.
According to the police statement, the driver refused to take a breathalyzer test. When officers announced they would carry out the official procedure, he offered them money to drop it. After they rejected the bribe, the suspect got back into his car and fled, but was quickly located and detained.
What exactly happened at the scene?
The patrol stopped the vehicle around 5 p.m. on May 31. Officers judged the driver to be visibly intoxicated and requested a measurement of his alcohol level, which he refused.
Police describe the sequence of events that followed in a few steps:
- the driver refused the breathalyzer test at the scene,
- he offered officers money to drop the official procedure,
- after the bribe was rejected, he fled by car,
- he was soon found and arrested.
“The suspect offered money to the police officers who stopped him so that they would not carry out this official procedure,” the police statement says.
Who is handling the case and what does the suspect face?
The suspect was held for up to 48 hours and, along with a criminal complaint, will be brought before the Higher Public Prosecutor in Nis. The case is being handled jointly by the Ministry of the Interior, the Anti-Corruption Service and the Special Department for the Suppression of Corruption at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nis.
Attempting to bribe a police officer is prosecuted as a separate criminal offence, independent of the traffic violation for which the driver was initially stopped. The final legal classification and the further course of the proceedings will be determined by the competent prosecutor’s office.
Until the pre-trial procedure is concluded, the suspect is presumed innocent. Do you think penalties for attempting to bribe police during a check should be tougher?
