Two ‘good drinks’ of Johnnie

A manager at the Trinidad Hilton hotel was among four people who appeared in court on Thursday for driving under the influence of alcohol. Two of the four were fined, one was reprimanded and discharged with a warning, while the fourth had her sentence suspended.

Hotel manager Ashmeed Abass, 45, of Railway Road, Aranjuez, pleaded guilty to driving drunk on Wednesday and was fined $4,000 by Magistrate Nizam Khan in the Port of Spain Sixth Court. Abass was given one month to pay the fine. He was arrested at 2.30 am on the Lady Young Road, Belmont, by police in a road block.

He told the magistrate he rang in the new year with his staff and had two “good drinks” of Johnnie Walker and some champagne with them to show his appreciation for their hard work. Abass failed the breathalyser test with a reading of 80 microgrammes. The prescribed limit is 35 microgrammes.

Also receiving a fine, was IT supervisor Ian Noreiga, 32, of La Florissant, D’Abadie, who was stopped by police at Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook, just before midnight on Wednesday. He too was fined $4,000 but was given three months to pay.

He said he had a designated driver who had an emergency and he was left stranded. Noreiga said he unsuccessfully tried to get someone to get him and told the police he had about four White Oak drinks before. Noreiga’s reading was 82 microgrammes.