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The adjusted alert level 3 lockdown has been extended and with it a ban on the sale and on-site consumption of alcohol.

This came about in response to what President Ramaphosa described as “reckless behaviour” under the influence of alcohol, which has led to increased rates of transmission and serious strain on the healthcare system.

Police minister Bheki Cele said that those who flout the adjusted lockdown regulations will pay. Not wearing a mask in public, drinking, or transporting alcohol could result in a fine or six months’ imprisonment.

Maybe you could ask the police to drop your booze off for you, with this video now confirmed as an official SAPS vehicle.

According to CapeTalk, nearly 300 000 people have thus far been arrested for violating lockdown restrictions since March last year, with over 20 000 caught breaking lockdown laws in the past two weeks.

William Booth weighed in to explain what an arrest means regarding a criminal record, and what to do if you find yourself in that situation.

“In many instances, people are being arrested and taken by a law enforcement officer to a police station. They are then being processed at the police station, their fingerprints are taken and they are then being issued with an admission of guilt document.”

This document will state whether the accused can pay an admission of guilt fine of between R300 and R1 500 for the transgression. If you opt to pay that fine, you will get a criminal record, which will remain in place for 10 years after which it can be expunged.

Admission of guilt fines can be issued for lesser offences.

Booth says that you definitely should not sign the admission of guilt form. Rather, take note of the date, on the form, that will indicate when you must appear in the magistrate’s court.

“If you have a good case and your personal circumstances are fairly significant, then you can have your charges withdrawn.”

Booth, who has legally represented a vast array of suspects, some of them high profile, over the years, became the target of an attempted hit outside his Cape Town home in April 2020.

Five suspects were arrested in connection with the hit and have been charged with attempted murder.

Late in 2020, it emerged that Zane Kilian, a debt collector and former rugby player, accused in connection with policeman Charl Kinnear’s killing outside his Bishop Lavis home in Cape Town on September 18, 2020, would also be charged in connection with the attempted assassination of Booth.

The trial is ongoing.

You can listen to CapeTalk’s full interview with Booth below, with more information on lockdown violations and criminal records:

[source:capetalk]