A judge has convicted a Malaysian man for drink-driving after rejecting his claims that police bungled the procedures for processing him.
Surendiran Salvaraju (34), of Frankton, drank seven bottles of beer then slept in his car for five hours before police stopped him while he was driving in Goldridge Way about 3am on Christmas Day last year.
After a positive breath-screening test at the scene, Salvaraju's evidential breath test at Queenstown police station gave a result of 459mcg.
The case went to trial before Judge Mark Callaghan in the Queenstown District Court on May 16, then resumed recently after an adjournment.
Speaking through an interpreter, Salvaraju said he was never read his rights, and the constable had merely asked ``do you have a lawyer?''
He said ``no'' because he did not know any in Queenstown, particularly one who could speak his native tongue of Tamil.
The constable had ``yelled'' at him a couple of times, and because of his dealings with police in his home country, he had ``kept my mouth shut'' and did what he was told.
Constable Matthew Hargreaves said the defendant appeared to understand him throughout their dealings, and had complied with all his requests.
He denied a suggestion by Salvaraju's counsel, Joseph Mooney, that he ``rode roughshod over the procedures on the breath-alcohol processing checklist''.
He had read the defendant his rights, given him the opportunity to call a lawyer on three occasions and offered him the legally required 10-minute period to elect a blood test.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin, Salvaraju conceded he did not tell Const Hargreaves at any stage he did not understand what was happening, nor did he ask for an interpreter.
Judge Callaghan said he rejected the defendant's evidence where it conflicted with that of Constable Hargreaves.
Salvaraju had been told he had a right to talk to a lawyer, and had been given a list of lawyers to call. The defendant had declined that offer.
He had also been given 10 minutes to elect to take an evidential blood test, and had chosen not to do so.
Salvaraju was convicted, fined $600, ordered to pay $130 court costs and disqualified from driving for six months.
