Xioming Zhang sentenced with hindering police officer after car breaks down on M7 Mwy

A tradie told police to “f**ck off” and ran from his vehicle during an intoxicated tirade during their attempts to help him and his wife after their car broke down on a busy motorway.

Liverpool Local Court. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu.

A tradie told police to “f**ck off” and ran from his vehicle during an intoxicated tirade during their attempts to help him after his car broke down on a busy motorway.

Xioming Zhang, 53, appeared before Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty on January 8 after his vehicle encountered a mechanical issue in the breakdown lane on the M7 motorway.

Agreed facts state the M7 control room dispatched a crew to move the vehicle, but Zhang became “verbally hostile and aggressive towards them”, and staff were forced to leave to avoid confrontation.

Police were called as Zhang was “highly intoxicated” and found him and his wife in the car‘s back seat.

Xioming Zhang and his lawyer outside Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday.

“It was immediately obvious that Zhang was highly affected by alcohol due to the extremely strong smell of intoxicating liquor, which became more noticeable as he spoke in the direction of police,” the facts state.

While police attempted to make inquiries to move the vehicle to avoid a collision, Zhang talked over and yelled at police to “f**k off” and “shut up”.

“At one stage, he told his partner to call the police and had to be reminded that they were already there,” the facts stated.

“When police attempted to talk with his partner, Zhang began shouting and screaming towards her, and police became fearful he might assault her … however he suddenly opened the rear off-side passenger door and jumped out of the car.”

One of the officers grabbed Zhang and dragged him away from the car and onto the grass embankment fearing he would run directly into traffic.

Liverpool Local Court. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu.

“Both officers issued verbal commands for him to stop resisting, however he continued to roll and twist on the ground and ignore these commands,” the facts state.

Zhang was taken to Liverpool Police Station where he continued to verbally abuse police while in custody.

At court on Wednesday, Zhang’s lawyer said his client accepted his “behaviour was inappropriate”.

However, Magistrate Julie Zaki condemned Zhang’s actions as “quite hostile and physically violent”.

“What troubles me in his letter of apology is that he says it’s a misunderstanding but it’s clearly much more,” she said.

“What followed was an unfortunate series of events in which the defendant was highly affected by alcohol and reacted in what I refer to as a hostile and aggressive manner.”

Zhang was convicted and sentenced to a conditional release order for a period of 12 months.