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Former brigadier Darius van der Ross, who was convicted for corruption in May alongside retired top cop Arno Lamoer and two others, has been released on parole, Western Cape correctional services confirmed on Tuesday.
Van der Ross, 49, was released from Malmesbury prison last Monday after serving a quarter of his sentence, said spokesperson Simphiwe Xako.
He had to adhere to certain conditions and a parole officer was monitoring him, he added.
The Western Cape High Court sentenced Van Der Ross to four years in jail, two of which were suspended for five years on condition that he was not convicted of a similar crime in that period.
A cluster commander for Bellville at the time, he was found to have accepted R3 324.60 in gratification from businessman Salim Dawjee and his tow truck companies. He did favours for Dawjee in return.
These included sending an officer to certify documents for Dawjee and giving him preferential treatment for service delivery complaints.
Dawjee used police service 'as his own fiefdom'
Dawjee received an effective six years in jail for corruption, fraud and defeating the ends of justice. Lamoer, his longtime friend, also received an effective six years in jail. Former brigadier Kollin Govender received an effective four years in jail for corruption.
The Supreme Court of Appeal recently granted Dawjee leave to appeal his sentence.
READ: Appeal court grants businessman Dawjee leave to appeal sentence
During sentencing proceedings, it emerged that Van der Ross was a father of three who had no previous convictions.
After resigning from the police, he was dependent on his pension fund and had casual employment as a driver for a waste management company.
Judge Rosheni Allie said in her judgment that Dawjee used the South African Police Service "as his own fiefdom".
She added that she chose direct imprisonment over correctional supervision for all accused because corruption was serious and had consequences for the police and the community they served.
