Hawks arrest man who offered to quash Oscar Pistorius case

A man who was allegedly running a scam claiming he could get Oscar Pistorius's murder case quashed has been arrested, the Hawks said on Friday.

"A 33-year-old man was arrested on Friday afternoon in Pretoria soon after he received a deposit of R40 000 for his services which included... [having] Oscar Pistorius’ murder case destroyed," Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

The man allegedly masqueraded as an official from the National Prosecuting Authority and demanded R250 000 from Pistorius, promising him that he would ensure that his murder case was quashed.

The man allegedly called Pistorius on Thursday night, informing him he could make the case disappear.

Mulaudzi said police received information from a friend of Pistorius.

"We got a call from Oscar's friend. The Hawks dispatched a team to deal with the family directly. We set a sting operation today [Friday] when he was given R40 000 in cash," said Mulaudzi.

"The Hawks were informed of the matter and an operation was conducted. The suspect was arrested next to the Pretoria High Court and he has been charged with corruption. Further charges cannot be ruled out."

Pistorius's family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess told News24: "I have no knowledge about this. I can't comment on things I have no knowledge on."

The man is expected to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.

----News24wire

Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/man-who-claimed-he-could-quash-pistorius-murder-case-arrested-20160318