Asylum seeker fined over servo crash

AN ALCOHOL-affected unlicensed driver has claimed he fled from a Dandenong service station to find an interpreter after reversing his car into a diesel pump.
The Sri Lankan asylum seeker, 35, had unsuccessfully tried to communicate with the servo attendant – despite a language barrier – soon after crashing into the pump about 7am on 2 June, a court was told.
The “frustrated” and “aggressive” accused then left the Princes Highway servo on foot, police prosecutor Senior Constable Tracey Arnold said.
A friend who remained at the scene called the accused on behalf of police.
With the help of a Tamil interpreter, the accused agreed to submit to a breath test and recorded a reading of 0.109 – more than twice the legal limit.
The man told police he’d drunk “two large high-strength beers”.
A defence lawyer told Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 15 February that the man had never held a Victorian driver’s licence since arriving as an asylum seeker in 2012.
The man was unaware he needed a local licence when staying in Australia for more than three months, the lawyer said.
The lawyer said the Tamil man had left the servo to seek help from an interpreter out of frustration with the Sinhalese-speaking attendant.
Magistrate Gerard Bryant said the accused’s alcohol impairment was demonstrated – and aggravated – by his collision with a diesel pump.
Mr Bryant appreciated the man had a “difficult life” as a “recently arrived refugee from war-torn Sri Lanka” with a “limited command” of English.
“The reason you have to get a licence you come to Australia is to demonstrate you have an understanding of our road laws which may be different generally from the road rules in your country of origin.
“You’re also required to demonstrate you can drive a car competently so you’re not to be a risk to yourself, your passengers and everyone else on the road.”
The man must wait 12 months, complete a drink-driving awareness course and apply to the court before trying for a licence.
He was convicted and fined $800.