Federal government employee Jason Paiva pleads guilty to drink-driving after splitting bottle of wine with wife
A public servant with 30 years experience blew more than double the limit driving his family home after celebrating his 10-year wedding anniversary.
Police & Courts
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A federal government worker with more than 30 years of public service experience has lost his driver’s licence for drink driving after a night out with his wife and young child.
Jason Paiva, a newly employed grants manager who previously worked as a procurement adviser for SA’s Department for Environment and Water, appeared in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Paiva, of Blackwood, pleaded with Magistrate Oliver Koehn to sentence him without recording a conviction, fearing he would lose his position as a “group leader” for his Scouts group.
“I’ve been employed for 30 years in the state government and have just currently moved to the Australian federal government,” Paiva said. “I just want to continue giving back to the community through the Scouts.
“I do acknowledge it was a misjudgment in my reasoning to drive – that night we did attend the beach, had a swim and something to eat. I shared a bottle of wine with my wife … we were celebrating our 10-year anniversary.”
Paiva was arrested on February 1, earlier this year, after police pulled him over into a static driver testing site on Shepherds Hill Rd, Eden Hills.
Prosecutors alleged he submitted to a breath analysis test, which returned a reading of 0.12g of alcohol. In SA, the legal limit is 0.05.
The court heard his seven-year-old son was inside the vehicle.
On Monday, Mr Koehn sentenced Pavia without recording a condition, saying he didn’t think the family man would “do this again”.
He instead imposed a fine of $500 and disqualified Pavia from driving for six months – backdated to February 1.
Pavia was also ordered to pay a further $1000 victims-of-crime levy, court costs and prosecution costs.
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