Amritpal Singh Rehill pleads guilty to series of drunk and unlicensed driving offences

An unlicensed drink-driver is set to be deported after a series of unlicensed drink-driving offences.

Drink driving generic. Picture: iSTOCK

An unlicensed drink-driver is set to be deported following a series of driving offences.

Amritpal Singh Rehill fronted the Broadmeadow Magistrates’ Court via an audiovisual link from a detention centre on Tuesday.

Rehill pleaded guilty to driving-related charges, including drunk driving and speeding.

In November 2020, Rehill was driving unlicensed on the Eastern Fwy in Balwyn North when cops clocked him doing 118km/h in a 100km speed zone.

When pulled over, Rehill failed to produce a valid Victorian driver’s licence and said he had his international Indian licence at home.

A breath test also revealed Rehill had been drinking and his car was impounded.

A few months later in April 2021, Rehill was working at a property in Craigieburn when he lost control of his car and drove into a house fence.

Police conducted a breath test and found Rehill’s BAC level to be 0.140.

When asked about his drinking, Rehill told police he had consumed a bottle of wine.

Then in September 2024, Rehill caused a collision with another vehicle on Sydney Rd Campbellfield while unlicensed and with a BAC almost six times the legal limit at 0.298.

On Tuesday, Rehill, while representing himself, told the court he had been depressed for 10 years after the death of his parents.

“I started drinking because of that, but that’s not an excuse to break the law,” he said.

“I was seeing a psychologist, but unless I help myself, nothing else matters, even if I seek out help.”

The court heard Rehill was detained at a Melbourne detention centre since September 2024 after his latest driving stint because he had no visa to stay in Australia legally.

Rehill told the court he came to Australia in 2017 but after the finalisation of his criminal driving matter, he will be deported back to India.

Magistrate Andrew Halse, while convicting Rehill, said he needed psychological assistance to cope with his depression and drinking problem.

Rehill was also fined $2500; his licence was cancelled and disqualified for 58 months.