In Montego Bay, St James, a local motorist’s misguided attempt to bribe a police officer to avoid traffic penalties has resulted in a far heftier financial penalty than he ever expected. 56-year-old Eric Buchanan faced sentencing last Wednesday before Judge Natiesha-Fairclough Hylton at the St James Parish Court, where he was ordered to pay a combined $75,000 in fines across four separate offenses, after his $10,000 bribe offer backfired spectacularly.
Details of the incident, which have now been laid out in open court, show that uniformed police officers on routine mobile patrol first spotted Buchanan violating road rules by ignoring a posted one-way traffic sign. Pulling the driver over, officers requested his standard operating documentation: a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance coverage, and a current vehicle fitness certificate. Upon inspection, officers quickly confirmed that Buchanan lacked two required documents: a valid insurance certificate and an up-to-date fitness certificate for his vehicle.
After being instructed to gather and submit all required paperwork, Buchanan eventually handed a folder of documents to the attending officer. The officer immediately noticed two $5,000 banknotes folded inside the cover of the insurance documents, court records confirm. Prosecutors allege that Buchanan explicitly encouraged the officer to accept the cash, saying in local patois: “Officer, yuh done see wha a gwaan? Tek this and gwaan officer, yuh done see wha a gwaan” — a clear request for the officer to look past his violations in exchange for the hidden $10,000 bribe.
Buchanan was taken into custody on bribery charges immediately after the attempted payoff. During his court appearance, the motorist pushed back against the bribery allegation, claiming the entire situation was a misunderstanding. He argued that the hidden cash was not a bribe, but a “gesture” to reward the officer for what he claimed was assistance helping him exit a nearby car park. He added that heavy rain had created confusion around the traffic stop, but his explanation was inconsistent and difficult for the court to corroborate.
Judge Fairclough-Hylton rejected Buchanan’s version of events entirely, and handed down stacked penalties to send a clear message about corruption attempts targeting law enforcement. For the bribery charge alone, Buchanan was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine or serve 30 days in prison in default of payment. Additional penalties were imposed for his other traffic violations: $20,000 fine (or 10 days’ jail) for driving without valid insurance, $17,000 fine (or 10 days) for operating an unfit vehicle, and $8,000 fine (or 10 days) for disobeying the one-way traffic sign — bringing the total mandatory fine to $75,000, seven and a half times the value of the original bribe Buchanan tried to offer.