A SPRINGVALE man has had charges against him dismissed after twice being caught on CCTV dumping rubbish in a car park.
Yi Zhou, 54, pleaded guilty in Dandenong Magistrates Court last Thursday to offences including littering from a vehicle. It was believed to be Greater Dandenong Council’s first such prosecution using CCTV footage.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell dismissed the charges because it was Zhou’s first offence.
She ordered Zhou to pay a $71.40 fine by November 15. It is believed the dumped rubbish was equivalent to a small trailer load — which costs up to $50 to dispose at Clayton South regional landfill.
Greater Dandenong officer Stephen Scott told the court Zhou had dumped furniture, chair legs and boxes of trash next to existing piles of rubbish in a car park at the corner of Springvale and Newcomen roads on two occasions on July 6.
A portable camera had recorded Zhou’s car with a passenger dumping the rubbish at the site. On inspecting the rubbish, council officers found letters and bills with Zhou’s name and address.
Through an interpreter, Zhou said the dumping was “a mistake” — “I saw a lot of rubbish there so I thought it was allowed”.
He said if he didn’t think it was permitted, he wouldn’t have dumped letters that identified him. The court was told Zhou migrated from China in 1999, had a language barrier and did not know how to ask where to dump rubbish.
Ms O’Donnell said: “Hopefully you realise now how serious it is to dump rubbish. If you commit the same offence again, the penalties can be quite high.” —Cameron Lucadou-Wells
