Auckland: A 25-year-old Punjabi named Simran Singh from India was caught driving while drunk in Timaru, New Zealand. Simran was there on a holiday visa. He was seen sitting in the driver’s seat of a Mitsubishi that was stopped and facing north in a lane that was going south.
The police turned on their lights, and Singh pulled over at a nearby gas station. There were signs that he was impaired by alcohol, so he was given an official breath test. The result was 576 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.
Singh said he hadn’t been drinking, but his lawyer, Tiffany McRae, said that was because he couldn’t say anything else because of the language barrier. He was found guilty and given a $600 fine.
He was also told to pay $130 in court costs and was banned from getting or keeping a driver’s licence in New Zealand for six months.
Singh felt bad about what he did and pleaded guilty right away.
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