Anil Thomas sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for drink driving
A small-business owner swore he hadn’t touched alcohol, then recorded a staggering reading almost identical to the one that cost him his licence four years ago.
The owner of a popular Indian restaurant recorded a blood-alcohol reading close to five times the legal limit after passing out in the driver’s seat of his car, despite insisting to police that he hadn’t been drinking.
Southern Delights owner Anil Thomas, 47, appeared in the Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday, only a few years after previously losing his licence for 12 months over a nearly identical alcohol reading.
Police prosecutor Joseph Curtain told the court that on October 29, a passer-by contacted police after seeing a man get into the driver’s seat of a parked car and then lose consciousness.
“He was displaying signs of being intoxicated, unsteady on his feet, glassy eyes, strong scent of liquor, difficulty focusing, unable to maintain a conversation and memory loss,” he said.
He denied consuming any liquor, but a roadside breath test produced a reading of 0.233 per cent.
The court heard Thomas had been convicted in 2021 for drink driving a slightly higher blood-alcohol level of 0.234
Defence lawyer Rishi Nand, of Strategic Lawyers, said Thomas had driven to Mount Louisa before parking to take a nap.
“He did not want to inform his family of what was going on in his life,” he said.
The court heard Thomas had been under significant financial strain from sending money to India to pay for his brother’s medical treatment following a catastrophic fall.
Mr Nand said Thomas denied drinking because he felt under “pressure” during the police questioning and “couldn’t understand what was going on”.
Although the defence requested the minimum one-year disqualification period, Magistrate Steven Mosch said the offence was much too serious and deserved a harsher penalty.
Magistrate Mosch said he had considered a letter Thomas submitted, in which he admitted turning to alcohol during a time of stress.
“You reference yourself being physically exhausted and emotionally exhausted, it does seem that you turned to alcohol and you’ve driven a motor vehicle,” he said.
“You should never have been in this vehicle.”
The court heard Thomas had also been dealing with staffing and supplier issues at his restaurant.
Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence.
He was fined $1750 and disqualified from driving for 18 months with convictions recorded.
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Originally published as Anil Thomas sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for drink driving
