Court clerk becomes UK bribery act's first victim

LONDON - A court officer has become the first person to be convicted under Britain's new Bribery Act.

Munir Patel, who worked at Redbridge Magistrates' Court in east London, pleaded guilty to accepting 500 pounds to "get rid of a speeding charge for someone by keeping the details off a court database, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday.

"Public servants are required to act with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality but Patel's actions could not have been further from each of these," said Gaon Hart, a Senior Crown Advocate for the CPS.

"His conduct has brought into disrepute the criminal justice system as he sought to undermine the very laws which he was employed to uphold."

Patel admitted bribery and misconduct in a public office and will be sentenced on Nov. 11 at Southwark Crown Court. He faces a maximum sentence of a 10-year jail term.

The Bribery Act, which came into force in the summer, was designed to toughen laws on firms offering kickbacks in return for business as well as public servants.