Second-time drunk driving offender Shyams Mohammed was fined $10,000 when he appeared before a magistrate in the San Fernando Traffic Court on Monday.
Telling him that the circumstances which brought him to the court were quite serious, Magistrate Natalie Diop ordered that he pay half of the fine immediately, and allowed him 20 days to pay the balance, or serve 16 months with hard labour.
Mohammed, who was fined for a similar offence last December, was arrested on November 7 at Ste Madeleine. An officer on mobile patrol duty at Palm Drive observed Mohammed slumped in the driver’s seat.
He approached the vehicle and enquired from Mohammed if he needed assistance. The officer said he detected a strong scent of alcohol on his breath and noticed that his eyes were red and his speech slurred.
Mohammed was taken to the nearby police station and was given instructions to take a sample of his breath. However, the court was told he kept blowing and stopping and so the officer was unable to get a proper reading.
He was subsequently charged with failure to provide a sample of his breath for reading without reasonable cause. Mohammed pleaded guilty.
Court prosecutor Sgt Dianath Harricharan also produced a criminal record which showed that on December 12, 2014, Mohammed was also fined $7,000 for a similar offence. He was also charged with disorderly behaviour.
In the same court, Shameel Mohammed (no relation) also expressed remorse through his attorney Marissa Bobb and volunteered to enrol in the Arrive Alive defensive driving programme.
Magistrate Diop agreed and adjourned his matter to January 12.
The father of three and part owner of an automotive parts place was also arrested on November 7 along the Tarouba Link Road. He admitted to officers who stopped him that he went to a birthday party with a relative and drank six beers.
He said he had a meal and thought that would have balanced it off.