A traffic officer insists that Bethuel Mondli Zuma produced a damning breathalyser reading after evading police.
|||Maj-Gen Bethuel Mondli Zuma, who was to have become Gauteng's new provincial police commissioner, will testify that he was not breathalysed by traffic officers, the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court heard on Thursday.
However, under cross-examination by Zuma's counsel Sergie Brimiah, traffic officer Carin Bishop said this would be a lie.
Zuma, 46, faces four counts for allegedly trying to evade a roving anti-alcohol patrol in December 2008.
He faces charges of failing to stop when ordered to, drunk driving, attempting to escape from custody, and defeating the ends of justice.
Bishop testified earlier that her colleague Kermit Johansen signalled to Zuma to stop his car in a Pietermaritzburg suburb that day.
She said Zuma failed to stop even though Johansen shouted and flashed a torch at him.
Johansen put on the patrol car's siren and blue lights and shouted at Zuma over a loudspeaker.
Zuma still did not stop and they lost sight of his vehicle.
The court heard that the officers drove around looking for the car and eventually found it.
Bishop said they went to the driver's door and asked Zuma to step out.
They identified themselves and asked Zuma for a breath sample.
Zuma blew into a breathalyser and the reading was 0.65 per 1000ml of breath, which was three times over the legal limit.
Johansen told Zuma he should be arrested and tried to handcuff him, but Zuma pushed him away and jumped over a two metre high gate.
Bishop then called for back-up.
She said that about an hour later, Zuma was seen talking on a cellphone.
By this time, she said two hours had gone by since he ignored the order to stop.
She said a blood sample at that stage was useless as it should have been taken within two hours for it to be valid.
National police commissioner Riah Phiyega announced Zuma's appointment as Gauteng police commissioner on August 31, but withdrew it hours later when it emerged that he had a case pending against him.
The trial resumes on October 25. - Sapa