Chiek Lim, Masuma Hosseini and Richard Dalidowicz in Moorabbin Court over driving offences

A Highett man caught driving unlicensed after being done for speeding at 155km/h in a 110km/h zone has given police an outrageous excuse for his offending. Find out what he said.

A long list of bad drivers have pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court, including a 69-year-old man who continues to drive despite having never held a licence.

A repeat offender who has driven without a licence for more than 40 years, a stay at home mother who fled a collision scene and a senior investment analyst who wanted to charge his electric car despite having a suspended licence have all fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court.

Chiek Lim

A repeat offender has promised a court he “won’t drive unlicensed” again, despite driving without a licence since the 1990s.

Chiek Lim, 69, pleaded guilty in the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 12 to driving unlicensed and drink-driving charges.

The court heard police saw Lim on May 7, 2023 driving in Bentleigh East and recognised him from interactions they’d had with him on previous occasions.

When Lim was unable to produce a licence, he underwent a breath test and blew 0.023.

Chiek Lim pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates' Court to driving unlicensed and under the influence.

The legal limit for unlicensed drivers is 0.00.

The car Lim was driving was impounded for 30 days.

The court heard Lim told police he “didn’t think he’d be over,” and that he’d just been out “doing shopping, because he’d run out of food.”

In court on Tuesday, Lim told Magistrate Ross Maxted he was “sorry for driving unlicensed”.

“No you’re not, you do it all the time,” Mr Maxted said.

Pointing to Lim’s priors, Mr Maxted said the pensioner had previously been dealt with “leniently” by other courts.

“You’ve got priors from 2019, 2018, twice in 2018 and a numerous amount in the 1990s,” he said.

“You’re lucky I’m not imposing a term of imprisonment.”
Mr Maxted referred to VicRoads records, finding out Lim had never been licensed.

“It’s clear you’ve been doing this since the 90s and nothing has changed your position,” he said.

“It’s a deliberate decision you make.”

Lim was ordered to comply with a 12 month community corrections order, to undertake 115 hours of unpaid community work and to pay a $1000 fine with conviction.

He is also disqualified from obtaining a license or from driving for 18 months.

Masuma Hosseini

An Iranian homemaker who rear-ended a car and fled from the accident has blamed her language barrier between English and Persian for her failing to nominate a driver.

Masuma Hosseini pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 12 to failing to stop after a traffic accident.

The court heard Hosseini rear-ended a car on December 8, 2022 at an intersection on Camms Rd in Cranbourne.

At the time, both drivers got out of their cars and agreed to move off the road and exchange details.

Masuma Hosseini pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates' Court after failing to stop after a collision that left one car smashed up.

The court heard Hosseini got back into her car and drove away from the scene.

Police caught up with her on January 25 last year, when they served a notice to her Clayton South address, asking her to nominate a driver.

In court on Tuesday, Hosseini told Magistrate Ross Maxted that she had been in Iran at the time the notice had been delivered to her in the mail, and had therefore not received it.

“I didn’t have access to the letters because of my ex-partner,” she said.

“I was away at the time and then had to move quickly when I returned, I changed my address, my email, and moved in with my daughter.”

Hosseini told the court through a Persian interpreter that she struggled with English and didn’t have a job outside being a “homemaker”.

Mr Maxted fined Hosseini $1200 without conviction and suspended her license for seven days.

Richard Dalidowicz

A Highett man caught driving while suspended has given police a ridiculous excuse for his offending.

Richard Dalidowicz, 58, pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 12 to driving while suspended after police nabbed him in Cheltenham late last year.

The court heard the senior investment analyst was driving on Keys Rd in Cheltenham on December 9 in 2023 when a number plate recognition camera alerted police to his licence status.

A man caught driving unlicensed has told police he was just “charging the battery” of his electric vehicle.

Officers stopped him, where he could confirm his identification but was unable to provide his licence.

The court heard Dalidowicz had been suspended just 11 months earlier for speeding at 155km/h in a 110km/h zone.

When asked why he was driving, Dalidowicz said he was “just going to charge the battery” of his electric car.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Ross Maxted said it was “irrelevant” that Dalidowicz’s car needed charging.

Dalidowicz was fined $1000 without conviction, and his licence was suspended for 14 days.