Princes Town man fined for DUI, reprimanded for driving on pavement

A Princes Town man has been fined $5,000 after he pleaded guilty to drunk driving.

On Wednesday, Hyattali Hosein, 57, appeared before Princes Town magistrate Margaret Alert in the Second Court.

The magistrate ordered him to pay the fine on or before March 31, 2023, or, in default, serve 12 months’ jail with hard labour.

Hosein was also charged with driving on a pavement, which stemmed from the same incident. On this charge, the magistrate reprimanded and discharged him.

WPC James of the Princes Town municipal police laid the charges.

The court heard that around 3.10 pm on Tuesday, municipal police were on mobile patrol along the Naparima Mayaro Road near the Princes Town public library.

They saw a Mazda pickup van parked on the pavement. They also saw the driver, who was later identified as Hosein, get out of the van.

The police approached and asked to see his driving documents, which were found to be valid.

The police said his speech was slurred, his eyes bloodshot, and his breath smelled of alcohol. They arrested him and took him to the Marabella police station, where a field sobriety test was done.

The reading showed he had 66 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath which meant Hosein exceeded the legal limit by 31 microgrammes.