JOZEF Choluj, a member of the regional board of the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) in Žilina, who is the head of the local office for transportation, was caught by the police taking a Sk10,000 (€257) bribe, the SME daily wrote.
The police arrested Choluj on November 28, just two days after he was elected as a regional councillor in the November 26 elections for the higher territorial units VÚC. If convicted, he faces three to eight years in jail.
The top SDKÚ board, led by PM Mikuláš Dzurinda, temporarily suspended Choluj from the party in response to the incident.
According to the police Choluj demanded the bribe from a local businessman who wanted to take an exam to be able to operate a taxi service and was asking for a substitute date for the exam.
The SDKÚ cannot withdraw Choluj from the regional parliament but it is likely that it will call on him to give up his mandate.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
TheSlovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the informationpresented in its Flash News postings.
