Repeat drink-drivers jailed

Over-limit man gave daughter quad bike ride

Two repeat drink-drivers have each been sent to jail but a third ended up with a community-based sentence for giving his daughter a ride on a low-powered quad bike on Christmas Day.

In the New Plymouth District Court on Friday, Jesse Waru, 31, and Ansley Ngapiki Niwa, 49, were sentenced to three months and four months' jail respectively.

Waru had been drinking and driving on December 19 when he went to his mother and stepfather's home in Okato and threatened to kill his stepfather.

He had since pleaded guilty to wilful damage, drink-driving with a breath-alcohol reading of 741mg, unlicensed driving and threatening to kill.

It was his fourth drink driving offence.

On the night he had grabbed a wheel brace and demanded to see his stepfather. When his mother said his stepfather wasn't there, he caused $2000 worth of damage to their property, got into the house, found his stepfather and threatened to kill him.

The court heard that Waru was getting counselling for alcohol abuse.

Judge Allan Roberts sentenced Waru to three months' jail, telling Waru every time he reoffended his jail sentences would become longer.

Niwa, 49, a scaffolder, was jailed for four months after admitting his sixth drink-driving offence. Niwa was stopped with a breath-alcohol reading of 858mg on July 15. The legal limit is 400mg.

Niwa's brother was stabbed to death in New Plymouth on November 2008.

While the judge said Niwa had understandably been traumatised by the death of his brother, his drinking was well established before that event.

Niwa was an excellent and reliable worker but had been given a final court warning for his drink driving.

But as he did not concede he had a drink problem there was no point in giving him supervision, the judge said.

"Understandably the recommendation in your pre-sentence report is one of imprisonment," the judge said in sending him to jail for four months and disqualifying him from driving for 12 months and one day.

Andrew McGregor, 33, was sentenced to 200 hours' community work and nine months' supervision to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse after he was found to be over the limit when giving his daughter a ride on a 50cc quad bike on the footpath.

It was the evening of Christmas Day and he was trying to entertain the children while his sister was preparing Christmas dinner, the court heard.

Judge Roberts said McGregor, who had four previous drink driving convictions, was travelling at a very low speed on the quad bike when he had given his daughter a ride.

Because of the special circumstances, McGregor was only disqualified from driving for six months rather than one year.

- © Fairfax NZ News