A Dunedin student will avoid a conviction for breaching the North Dunedin Undie 500 liquor ban if he makes a donation to the SPCA.
Nicholas James O'Reilly (23) was charged with breaching the ban after police found a can of beer in his pocket when he was on Dundas St on September 12 last year.
O'Reilly appeared before justices of the peace Robert Montgomery and Ashley Broad in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and admitted the offence.
But counsel Joss Miller said the young man had not been part of any of the Undie 500 disorder.
O'Reilly had simply been walking home from a friend's flat after watching the All Blacks v Springboks rugby test on television and he had the can of beer in his jacket pocket.
Had it not been for the blanket ban on diversion for Undie 500 offenders, O'Reilly would have been eligible for the scheme, Mr Miller said.
He asked for a discharge without conviction for the defendant because of the possible ramifications of a conviction on his future employment.
Prosecutor Sergeant Amelia Steel said she did not believe O'Reilly had met the conditions for a discharge without conviction.
But police would not oppose such an outcome if a donation was made to a suitable charity.
O'Reilly nominated the SPCA and agreed to make an appropriate donation.
The justices of the peace adjourned the case until February 17, when a discharge without conviction is to be granted on production of a receipt as proof of a donation to the SPCA.
University of Canterbury student Rex Eldon Hooper (19) was convicted and discharged in the Whangarei District Court on Monday.
He admitted behaving in a disorderly manner in Castle St on September 13.
