Russian traffic cop spared jail for eating bribe

A Russian policeman received a suspended sentence on Monday for extorting a 2,000-ruble ($67) bribe and then trying to conceal his crime by eating the money, investigators said.

The traffic police captain in the Chelyabinsk region, Alexei Nikolayev, was given a three-year suspended sentence for bribery, said Vladimir Shishkov, spokesman for the region's investigative committee.

In March, Nikolayev demanded a bribe from a driver after pulling him over for illegal overtaking. The driver agreed to hand over the money later, but tipped off police, who detained the police captain as he picked up the cash.

The policeman then locked himself in his police car and "ate the received money -- a 1,000-ruble note and two 500-ruble notes," Shishkov said.

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