Kiriaki Stamatakos blames low iron levels for not reading a license disqualification notice

An Oakleigh woman has come up with a bizarre excuse to explain why she was driving while her licence was suspended, leaving a magistrate “unimpressed”.

Oakliegh woman called an ‘ostrich’ in Moorabbin court after burying her head in the sand over licence penalty.

An Oakleigh woman has been blasted by a magistrate “for putting her head in the sand” after blaming her low iron levels for driving while disqualified.

Kiriaki Stamatakos pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on June 1 after being caught driving while disqualified late last year.

Ms Stamatakos claimed her low iron levels were at the centre of her not realising her licence had been disqualified, saying she “wasn’t with it”.

The court heard police had seen Ms Stamatakos travelling on Centre Rd in Clayton South in December 2022 and undertook a registration plate check, which revealed she was suspended from driving.

Ms Stamatakos told police she didn’t know her licence had been suspended for three months, reiterating her claim in court.

“I wasn’t aware I was losing my licence, I thought I had a choice to either pay a fine or lose it,” she told the court.

“I didn’t read the notice really, I just selected the payment plan and began paying the fine.”

Ms Stamatakos told the court her car had been broken into at the beginning of 2022, where her licence was stolen.

She claimed the final speeding charge that caused her licence suspension had been from the thief using her licence.

“I reported the theft to the police and have a statutory declaration that I reported it,” she said.

Magistrate Stephen Lee questioned why she wouldn’t contest the fine if she hadn’t been driving when she was so close to losing her licence.

“It’s not an excuse, I should have looked at the letter,” she said.

“I was anaemic that year, I wasn’t doing my iron infusions, I just wasn’t with the program.”

Ms Stamatakos went on to tell the court she had continued driving for two months after receiving the notice, only realising her licence was disqualified at the traffic stop.

Mr Lee said he was “unimpressed” at the state of affairs Ms Stamatakos had found herself in.

“I’m unimpressed with your plea, I’m unimpressed with your explanation in court today and I’m unimpressed that you’ve driven for two months because you didn’t bother to read the notifications sent to you from VicRoads,” he said.

“These matters are serious, because at the heart of them is community safety on the roads.”

When asked why she shouldn’t lose her licence for a two-month period to make up for her wrongdoing, Ms Stamatakos pleaded with Mr Lee for lenience.

“I’m self-employed and I take my children to school. My husband cannot because he works in those hours,” she said.

“I can’t afford to lose my licence.”

The court heard Mr Lee deliberate over the decision, taking general and specific deterrence into account.

“If I just fine you, you’d be getting off lightly,” he said.

“You’ve been an ostrich and buried your head into the sand by not reading the letters VicRoads have sent you.”

“You’ve got to cop the penalty.”

Luck was on the side of Ms Stamatakos however, all because she had fronted up to court.

“You’ve here to face the music, I’ll admit that,” Mr Lee said.

“I won’t interfere with your licence today, but I will impose a more substantial fine in this case, to deter you from breaking the rules further.”

Mr Lee fined Ms Stamatakos $1000 without conviction, leaving her free to drive away.

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