A popular perception shared by peace officers and the public alike is that the payment of an admission of guilt fine finalises the judicial process and no criminal record will result. However, paying an admission of guilt fine in terms of section 56 of the Criminal Procedure Act means that the person is deemed to have been convicted and sentenced in a court of law. People who pay admission of guilt fines later discover with shock that they in fact have a criminal record, with severe consequences. Often costly High Court applications will have to be instituted to set aside the conviction and sentence. Peace officers have a duty to inform a person of the consequences of paying an admission of guilt fine, but often do not do so and even abuse the admission of guilt system to finalise matters speedily. This article examines the consequences for a person who pays an admission of guilt fine. It further investigates whether there is a duty on Legal Aid South Africa to provide legal assistance in these matters and whether an administrative infringement process should be investigated.

中文翻译：

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承认有罪罚款：法律捷径还是延迟冲击？

  治安官员和公众的普遍看法是，支付认罪罚款即可完成司法程序，不会产生犯罪记录。但是，根据《刑事诉讼法》第 56 条支付认罪罚款意味着该人被视为已在法庭上被定罪和判刑。承认有罪罚款的人后来震惊地发现他们实际上有犯罪记录，后果很严重。通常必须向高等法院提出昂贵的申请才能撤销定罪和判刑。治安人员有责任告知个人缴纳认罪罚款的后果，但往往不这样做，甚至滥用认罪制度来迅速解决问题。本文探讨了对认罪罚款的人的后果。它进一步调查南非法律援助机构是否有义务在这些事项上提供法律援助，以及是否应调查行政侵权程序。