Aussie pleads guilty to traffic offences

AN expatriate has pleaded guilty in the Lae District Court to two counts of traffic offences in a road accident involving a PMV bus in this year.
Magistrate Issac Tjipet reserved sentencing Troy Freier, 55, from Queensland, Australia, to Aug 4.
Freier pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a count of negligent driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Freier, through his lawyer, told the court that even though he had some beer the night before the accident, police could not prove that he was drunk since they (police) did not have logistics like a breathalyser to check for alcohol content.
The defence lawyer said Freier, however, pleaded guilty because he did not want to drag the case in court and waste the court’s time.
He asked the court for leniency and convert his K800 bail to court fines since he was a first time offender. He expressed remorse and apologised to the court for breaching the Road Traffic Act (Rules) and he was also a manager of construction firm that contributed positively to the development of the province and country.
However, the police prosecutor asked the court to impose a much higher fine since the offence was prevalent in the country.
Police investigations revealed that on July 11, at about 10.30am, Freier was driving a Ford Ranger double cab towards an intersection at Butibam village along Busu Road in Lae when he collided into a PMV bus ferrying 25 passengers.
No major injuries were reported but a female passenger complained of chest pains after slamming herself on the bus’ door.
The case will return on Monday for sentencing.
Meanwhile, in another traffic case in the same court, Nigel Pea, 24, from Wabag’s Rakamanda village in Enga, pleaded guilty to driving without a Public Motor Vehicle permit, obstructing traffic and failure to comply with police directives.
Tjipet adjourned sentencing to today.
Pea apologised before the court for committing the offences and asked for leniency in sentencing.
He was granted K900 bail.
Police investigations revealed that on Monday, Pea stopped outside a lane on the main road in the Main Market area to pick up passengers.
Pea had no permit to drive and carry passengers and while on the road, he obstructed traffic flow.
A policeman on duty directed him to remove his vehicle but he told the officer that he was not doing anything wrong and refused to proceed to the Lae Traffic Registry.