CAIRO: Eight videos showing several traffic officers taking petty bribes from drivers were circulated yesterday. Officers on the road between the cities of Shebeen El Koum and Sadat in Menufiya governorate were seen taking bribes that ranged between LE 0.50 to LE 1 from trucks and taxi drivers, mostly ignoring privately-owned cars. Taken by an amateur photographer and reported in yesterday's Al-Dostour newspaper, the videos show officers taking bribes at traffic checkpoints in front of El Brigat village in El Behera governorate. The videos, which were taken through a digital camera apparently fixed at the front of a car, vary in length between 30 and 50 seconds. The scene of officers taking bribes became very noticeable to me, so I decided to buy a digital camera to catch it on tape, the photographer, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the independent daily. According to the article, officers call El Brigat checkpoint Saudi Arabia because the regular bribes plus the officers' salaries equal the income of someone working in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. One of the videos shows an officer with outstretched hands taking a bribe from a car on his left and a car on his right at the same time. The photographer, however, does not blame the officers for their actions, instead holding the Ministry of Interior responsible for making them resort to taking bribes. When contacted by Daily News Egypt, officials at the Ministry of Interior said that there is no official response to the article or the incident yet. The videos come a month after the new traffic law went into effect. The law has been criticized for its high fines and stringent punishment, which for certain violations equals jail time. Critics say the law will increase corruption and bribery as drivers attempt to wiggle out of fines by offering officers larger bribes. Last week another video was uploaded on a website showing an accident in Giza's Faisal Street where a woman, allegedly the daughter of one of the ministry's high ranking officials, threatens another driver with an electric taser. The video reignited talks about ministry corruption.
