A drink-driving offender left the Mbabane Magistrate’s Court surprised after explaining that he got behind the wheel because his designated sober driver was also intoxicated.
Smangaliso Dlamini appeared before Mbabane Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati on a charge of driving under the influence.
According to the charge sheet, Dlamini was found with an alcohol concentration of 0.42mg/l, which is above the legal limit of 0.38mg/l prescribed under the Road Traffic Act.
After being advised of his right to legal representation, he elected to conduct his own defence and pleaded guilty. During mitigation, he apologised to the court and pleaded for leniency, saying he had not intended to break the law.
“I humbly plead for the court’s leniency. I drove the vehicle because my sober driver was drunk and had to take responsibility for driving the car,” he said.
Dlamini further assured the court that he had learnt his lesson and would never drink and drive again. Magistrate Vilakati sentenced him to eight months imprisonment with an option of E800 fine. Another motorist, Thor De-Freitas, appeared before the same court facing five counts of contravening the Road Traffic Act.
De-Freitas was charged with driving under the influence after he was found with an alcohol concentration of 1.65mg/l. He also faced charges of driving an unroadworthy vehicle and operating a vehicle with an expired clearance certificate.
He was further charged with failing to comply with police instruction and failing to produce a valid driving licence. The court heard that the vehicle had several defects, including a cracked windscreen and worn-out tyres.
De-Freitas pleaded guilty to four charges and denied one charge of failing to produce a driving licence. During mitigation, he told the court that there was no space for parking where the police directed him.
“There were vehicles between me and the designated area. I decided to park at another nearby space. I was not disrespecting the police,” he said. He added that the experience had taught him a valuable lesson and did not wish to find himself before the court again.
For the drink-driving offence, De-Freitas was sentenced to eight months imprisonment with an option of E800 fine.
He was also fined E500 or five months imprisonment in each of the four counts, with the court ordering that the sentences on the third, fourth and fifth counts run concurrently.
