Man fined $2,000 for impaired driving; six others penalized for speeding, licence offences
EAGLE STAFF
A man was fined a total of $2,000 after pleading guilty recently to three offences, including one criminal charge, in provincial court.
Glen Worm, 47, of the Kawacatoose First Nation, admitted during the Oct. 9 session at the Elks Hall that he had been driving with an illegal blood-alcohol level when police stopped a vehicle near Zealandia on Aug. 6.
Judge Miguel Martinez fined Worm $1,500 for impaired driving and $500 for two traffic offences — driving an unregistered vehicle and going at least 35 km/h over the speed limit — as suggested by Crown prosecutor Tom O’Hara. Judge Martinez also banned Worm from driving for one year.
Worm said he had felt hungover but did not think he was “that impaired” as he drove several people home after a wedding celebration in Calgary the night before. His passengers, he said, were in worse shape than he was.
Police observed his vehicle traveling about 140 km/h and swerving into the oncoming lane around 4:10 p.m., O’Hara told the judge. Worm failed a roadside breath test and later registered readings of 0.160 and 0.150.
The Crown proceeded as if this were Worm’s first conviction, O’Hara said. His most recent conviction was in 2013. O’Hara requested the mandatory $1,500 fine for readings between 0.120 and 0.160 and $500 for the other tickets.
Worm said he had abstained from alcohol for many years until about two weeks before the wedding “and I haven’t drank since this happened.”
“Being hungover doesn’t mean you’re sober,” Judge Martinez said. “You shouldn’t drive if you feel you’re the least bit hungover.”
Other fines imposed by Judge Martinez included:
Qicong Liang, 25, of Saskatoon, was fined $832 after pleading guilty as the registered owner to driving at least 50 km/h over the speed limit. Police radar clocked his vehicle at 153 km/h at Laura on June 29.
Tanvir A. Shovon, 39, of Prince Albert, was fined $578 after pleading guilty to driving at least 35 km/h over the limit in the Rural Municipality of Pleasant Valley on July 25. His vehicle was recorded at 141 km/h.
Hassan Kachur, 24, of Calgary, was fined $206 for driving 128 km/h near Fiske on June 18.
Jifi Thaliath, 41, of Saskatoon, was fined $150 for driving without a valid driver’s licence near Harris on Sept. 1.
Rolanda Ratt, 31, of the Lac la Ronge First Nation, was fined $150 for driving without a valid licence on July 28 in the RM of St. Andrews.
Ayan Chaudhary, 22, of Edmonton, was fined $125 after pleading guilty to keeping his high beams on within 200 metres of an approaching vehicle on Aug. 4 near Zealandia. Chaudhary said he had done so because he had seen a deer crossing the highway about two minutes earlier.