Suspended sentence for taxi driver who tried to avoid penalty points by claiming son was behind wheel https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern ... l-1678328/A taxi driver who tried to avoid penalty points by falsely claiming his son was behind the wheel has been handed a suspended sentence and banned from driving for a year.Swaran Singh's car was caught on camera jumping red lights and speeding - and on both occasions he claimed his son was the driver.
The 57-year old was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, after he admitted two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Singh, from Rowan Drive in Dunmurry, appeared at Belfast Crown Court where a prosecuting barrister revealed the offences were committed on June 24 and July 22 last year and were both detected by traffic cameras.
Singh was detected by traffic cameras jumping a red light on York Street in Belfast and speeding on the A2 Bangor Road.
He was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution form, and on both occasions he 'nominated' his son as the vehicle's driver.
The prosecutor said the truth quickly emerged when footage was viewed, investigators attended his workplace, and when it emerged that son had been in Dublin when the offences occurred.
When arrested and interviewed, Singh made full admissions to police. When asked his reason for perverting the course of justice, the father-of-four said he already had six points on his licence and his insurance premium would increase.
A defence barrister said his client's actions were "clearly a very unsophisticated attempt at deceit" and he admitted his guilt at the first opportunity.
Branding his actions as "ham-fisted", the lawyer said: "He didn't fully appreciate the seriousness of his actions, and he now regrets his behaviour."
The barrister also spoke of Singh's clear record both here and in his native India, and noted a long history of employment.
He said he came to Ireland in 2002 and lived in Dublin where he owned a restaurant which closed as a result of the economic downturn, before moving to Belfast in 2011.
Judge David McFarland said he accepted that Singh acted out of "sheer panic" and tried to implicate his son as he would have accrued more penalty points, which would have led to a disqualification and an obvious impact on his livelihood as a taxi driver.
As well as the suspended sentence, he said it was "entirely appropriate" that he was banned from driving for a year.
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