Q COSTARICA — After it was proven that a traffic police officer (transito) attempted to accept a bribe, the Criminal Court for Finance and Public Service sentenced the former officer, named Araya, to two years in prison.
For these actions, he was also dismissed from public service and barred from holding public office for two years.
However, the former official will not go to prison, as he was granted a three-year suspended sentence from the date the sentence becomes final.
This means he cannot, during the three years, commit another crime punishable by more than six months in prison; otherwise, the suspended sentence may be revoked.
The Case
In October 2021, the Araua was working as a transito when he stopped a truck in San Isidro de Alajuela.
The driver of the truck (victim) noticed a traffic checkpoint with three officers. At that moment, one of the officers signaled him to stop, so he stopped and approached him.
It was then that Araya, knowing his actions were illegal and abusing his position as a tansito, induced the victim to improperly pay him a bribe to avoid issuing a ticket.
In this situation, the victim gave the officer ¢10,000 colones, and Araya pretended to issue a citation by handing him a traffic ticket without any information about the infraction.
The victim reported the incident to the other officers on the road.