Since alleged drunk driver Benjamin Kleinbooi’s car is still being paid off to Toyota’s financial services division, it might not enrich the state’s coffers after all.
Since alleged drunk driver Benjamin Kleinbooi’s car is still being paid off to Toyota’s financial services division, it might not enrich the state’s coffers after all.
In an unprecedented move last week, the assets forfeiture unit attached Kleinbooi’s Toyota Corolla during a crackdown on drunk driving leading up to the busy festive season.
Peter Volmink, project leader for the unit’s latest initiative, said the “reservation of ownership” clause in a financing agreement ensured the vehicle remained the property of the financing house until the final instalment.
Volmink said: “If a bank comes forward and shows us they are the true owners of the vehicle, we will exclude the bank’s right of ownership from our forfeiture order.
“The State would hand back the vehicle to the bank, but Kleinbooi would not have the right to drive it again.”
Toyota Financial Services could establish its right to the car either by approaching the asset forfeiture units or making representations to the Cape High Court in the formal forfeiture proceedings noted. According to Volmink, the division is able to file an opposition to the forfeiture order within 14 days.
General manager for marketing at Wesbank Peter Page said the Banking Council had held discussions regarding confiscated property. He voiced his concerned that there were no laws in place to prevent drunk-driving offenders from purchasing another vehicle.
Page said banks and government should consider blacklisting offenders so they would be unable to obtain credit to finance a second car.
On Thursday, Judge Dennis Davis granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) an order in the Cape High Court to attach a drunken driver’s vehicle after Kleinbooi was found guilty of driving drunk in Voortrekker Road, Laingsburg, on March 14. Kleinbooi’s Toyota Corolla was seized by the state.
At the time, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Sipho Ngwema said it had decided to actively support the transport department’s Arrive Alive campaign by “sending a strong message to drunken drivers and save lives”.
Ngwema said the car was being attached as it was considered to be an instrument used in the commission of an offence, in the same way that a gun used in an unlawful shooting would be confiscated.
