Arwin Santos Sabety: Mermaid Waters man guilty of dangerous driving while under the influence
A Gold Coast man responded to news his father had decided against selling the family business, a move that would have reaped a windfall sum to the defendant, by downing bourbon and driving erratically, a court has heard.
A Gold Coast man responded to news his father had decided against selling the family business, a move that would have reaped him a windfall sum, by downing bourbon and coke and driving, a court has heard.
Mermaid Waters man Arwin Santos Sabety, 44, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 21, where he pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of liquor (i.e. high-range) and dangerous driving while affected by an intoxicating substance.
Both offences occurred at Bermuda St, Robina, on September 19 this year.
Police prosecutor Chelsea Thorn told the court a motorist contacted police at 3.29pm to report a vehicle driving erratically and swerving across multiple lanes on Tugun Currumbin Rd.
The witness followed Sabety, whose dangerous driving forced other road users to take evasive action, while still on the line to police, and ultimately they were able to guide officers to Bermuda St, where Sabety was intercepted at 3.49pm.
Ms Thorn said Sabety’s head was slumped, he was unable to stand upright, and he appeared “heavily intoxicated by liquor”.
A breath analysis revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.171 per cent.
The court heard Sabety had no criminal history and a minor traffic record.
Defence lawyer Robert Thomson told the court his client was upset on the day in question as his father, who heads up the family business, Choice Secondhand at Bundall, had reneged on a promise to sell the operation.
Sabety, a long-term employee of the business, would have received a substantial payout to make good the many years of his receiving a below-market wage, Mr Thomson said.
Sabety and his father argued when it was revealed the older man had instead signed a new three-year lease and the defendant subsequently purchased a 10-pack of bourbon and coke, parked up at Tugun and began “chugging” them, the lawyer said.
He had intended on sleeping them off, but woke and made the “fateful decision” to drive home.
Magistrate Dominic Brunello said Sabety had buckled under the strain of an “unusual personal stressor” and chastised him for his “abandonment of personal responsibility”.
However, he noted the defendant was otherwise considered to be “family-oriented, kind, generous, [and] reliable” by those who knew him.
He fined Sabety $1750 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
No conviction was recorded for the dangerous driving charge.
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Originally published as Arwin Santos Sabety: Mermaid Waters man guilty of dangerous driving while under the influence
