Police & Court
Driver did not stop at breath test station despite police yelling at him to stop
A man who drove through a police breath testing station while an officer was yelling at him to stop, has been fined $600.
Malvin Liufau, 30, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to failing to stop on police direction and driving unlicensed.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Luke Lund told the court Liufau slowed down as he approached a police preliminary testing station on Broken River Dve in Shepparton on January 23, 2020, but did not stop as a police officer raised his hand and then yelled at him to stop.
Instead, Liufau continued to drive his mother’s Ford Focus through the station.
Police tracked down the car registration to further around the corner in Broken River Dve using their automatic number plate recognition advice.
When they went to the house soon afterwards to speak to Liufau, police discovered he had never held a licence.
The car was impounded for 30 days.
When questioned by police why he was driving, Liufau said he had been to Riverside Plaza.
He also told police he had never held a driver’s licence.
When asked why he didn’t stop when directed, Liufau told police he “didn’t know. I thought you guys were just setting up”.
Liufau’s solicitor Anthony Coote said his client did not have a licence and was “probably concerned about the consequences” when police tried to stop him.
Mr Coote said his client suffered paralysis down one side of his body as well as a traumatic brain injury and that he “may not get a licence” because of his injuries.
In fining Liufau $600, magistrate Tara Hartnett said she accepted that he “panicked when he saw police”, but told him he should not be driving without a licence.
Liufau was disqualified from driving for six months, but no conviction was recorded by the court on the matter.