In total, 117 workers at the public prosecution department have been either sacked or given an official warning for breaking the rules over the past four years, the AD says on Tuesday.

Among the eight people who were sacked were a public prosecutor who turned up drunk in court, a worker who drove a department car drunk, and an appeal court prosecutor who was found guilty of tax evasion.

In several cases, staff were cautioned for not being careful enough with sensitive information. In one case, a staff lawyer lost a hard disk while on holiday. Others misused department facilities by sending their own post or building websites while on duty.

Checking files

By far the most common offence involved checking confidential files for information about other people, including a potential marriage partner, the AD says.

In total, 19 of the workers who were cautioned were on temporary contracts or were on work experience placements.

Chief public prosecutor Kitty Nooy, who heads the department’s integrity committee, told the AD: ‘We should be setting an example but it would be an illusion to think that everyone in an organisation with 5,000 staff behaves as they should.’

‘I hope the willingness to report problems is greater in our organisation because we are constantly in the limelight.’