Driver fined $10,000, disqualified

He was arrested at about 1.15 am yesterday along the SS Erin Road, Debe, during a police road-block exercise and tested for alcohol content in his breath. Yesterday, Sookdeo pleaded guilty before magistrate Lisa Singh-Phillip that when a field sobriety test was conducted by Police Constable Shiva Roopchand, it showed that the alcohol level in his breath was 54 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 mg per 100 mls.

Magistrate Singh-Phillip heard that five years ago, Sookdeo was fined $7,000 for a similar offence.

Sookdeo pleaded with the magistrate not to ban him from driving because he used his vehicle to earn a livelihood but Singh-Phillip told the 35-year-old father that she must balance the scales of justice and the maximum sentence for a second such offence, was $20,000 and three years disqualification.