Corrupt police officer who was jailed when his estranged wife revealed during their bitter divorce that he’d taken £1,000 bribe to drop baseball bat assault case is sacked
- Mark Hopkins, 49, was investigating a baseball bat assault on Richard Diaper
- Hopkins took a £1,000 bribe to convince Mr Diaper to withdraw his statement
- His wife Tina Burton then reported the incident during their bitter divorce battle
- Hopkins was convicted of perverting the course of justice and jailed for 4 years
Det Con Mark Hopkins (pictured outside Cardiff Crown Court during his trial) took a £1,000 bung to drop an assault case
A corrupt detective was sacked without notice today after taking a bribe to drop an investigation.
Det Con Mark Hopkins, 49, took a £1,000 bung to drop the assault case but his crimes were exposed by his ex-wife during their bitter divorce battle.
Last month he was jailed for four years after his wife told how she saw him hide a bundle of banknotes in her kitchen cupboard.
And Hopkins was now been sacked after police chiefs ruled his crimes amounted to gross misconduct and had brought his force into disrepute.
A court heard that ex-wife Tina Burton, kept Hopkins’ secret for six years until she went to police during their bitter divorce in 2015.
Prosecutor Adam Payter said: ‘She told police that one night in 2008, Hopkins came home from work and boasted to her about something that had happened in work.
‘He told her that a boy had been beaten up. He was being offered money to drop the allegations.
‘There was money in it for Hopkins if he got the boy to drop the allegations.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard Hopkins was arrested and denied everything, claiming that he had never received any money.
He did however accept that his investigations into the assault in Tonypandy, South Wales, had been poor.
In his police interview, Hopkins said: ‘She kept coming into the house and was out in the streets saying “I’m going to have your job, I’m going to have you, you’re corrupt”.’
Giving evidence at his trial, Hopkins claimed his ex-wife was ‘bitter and twisted’ following their separation.
He said: ‘She despises me just as much as I despise her. Everything she says isn’t true.’
Hopkins, of Ton Pentre in Rhondda, had worked with South Wales police for 18 years, denied perverting the course of justice but was found guilty after a trial.
Hopkins (pictured left and right, outside court) was now been sacked after police chiefs ruled his crimes amounted to gross misconduct and had brought his force into disrepute
Jailing him for four years, Recorder Eleri Rees said: ‘You used your authority to convince a young boy to accept money to drop charges of a serious assault.
‘No one was brought to justice for this serious assault and witness intimidation. Your actions were simple and motivated by greed. You have shown little remorse for your actions.
Deputy Chief Constable Richard Lewis said: ‘South Wales Police expects its officers to act with honesty, to act with integrity, and not to engage in conduct which is discreditable and brings the force into disrepute.
‘DC Hopkins has seriously destroyed the trust South Wales Police and the public had in him as an officer.
‘He has committed a serious criminal offence which strikes at the heart of the business of policing and at the heart of what policing is about.
‘DC Hopkins was an experienced officer and understood the extent of his actions and understood the impact on the victim and the public’s confidence which was grossly undermined in this case.
‘This matter has undoubtedly brought the police service and South Wales Police into disrepute within our communities.’