Fifty percent of traffic officers will be laid off, as ordered by President Vladimir Voronin on Monday at a meeting of the Interior Ministry's Board, devoted to preventing and combating corruption among the police officers, Info-Prim Neo reports. Dissatisfied with the “very alarming” state of affairs in the traffic police, Vladimir Voronin instructed Interior Minister Valentin Mejinschi to carry out the given measures without delay: to reduce the number of officers, to test the remaining officers for integrity, and select new officers on a competition basis only. “If the dismissals don't work, we'll proceed to more radical measures”, the President warned. The head of state interrupted the minister as he tried to report that some layoffs at the Ministry had already occurred last week, and ordered Mejinschi to fire fifty percent of officers today, and not less than fifty. “I mean not forty-nine point nine”, underlined the President. “It wasn't yesterday that this Mob-like creature was born in the traffic police, nor has it grown in a week or a year “It's not clear who's protecting whom... We don't need this kind of service and we don't need such results”, said a frowning Voronin. The President presented a detailed report on corruption within the Interior Ministry, disclosing concrete names and describing concrete offenses committed by inspectors and senior officers from several districts of the country, as well as Chisinau. The head of state denounced the practice of asking bribes from motorists. According to the president, traffic officers are charging between 20 and 50 lei from Moldovan drivers and 20 to 50 euros from foreign ones. Vladimir Voronin also denounced abusive practices in issuing tickets, asserting that officers are asking 50 percent of the amount of the fine to let a guilty driver go. “The state has fixed a sum and they charge only half of it, isn't it charity?”, said the president. He also brought examples of forged evidence, extortion schemes, abuses of authority, and patronage for illegal affairs. Among other, the president brought the example of Col. Hihai Cibotaru, the head of the Public Order Department, who allegedly asked $3,000 in bribe money for hiring a man to serve as an officer in Straseni. According to the president, Cibotaru is building a house in Cojusna, Straseni, where police officers are often seen accompanying trucks loaded with construction materials. Mihai Cibotaru denies the allegations, claiming that the information the president possesses is untrue and that he will defend his rights as any other citizen. Minister Valentin Mejinschi avoided commenting for the press after the meeting. Deputy Minister Valentin Zubic stated that the phenomenon of corruption among the policemen is generated by a wide range of factors related to employment, the level of professional training, and moral values, expressing his hope that corruption would be eradicated from police. The meeting of the Interior Ministry's Board was also attended by Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea, Supreme Court Chair Ion Muroianu, Intelligence Service director Artur Resetnicov, Supreme Security Council Secretary Ion Morei, members of the board, and others.