A disqualified driver who was detected in an uninsured vehicle claimed that he thought his ban had only been for a month.
The deputy district judge told the 40-year-old’s solicitor: “I don’t believe what he has told you about not understanding this. It is simple – if you are in doubt you ask.”
Krasimir Asenov, of Langs Road, Armagh, pleaded guilty to using a vehicle without insurance and driving whilst disqualified at the city’s Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on May 5, police stopped the defendant driving a Ford Mondeo on the Langs Road.
Checks showed that the car did not have an active insurance policy. It was later established that Asenov had been disqualified from driving for 12 months on July 31, 2018.
During a notebook interview, the defendant accepted both offences but claimed he believed he had been disqualified for one month, not 12.
Defence solicitor Oisin Toner stated: “He is a Bulgarian national who came here for a better life and in general he has been industrious.
“He began driving in order to widen his scope for employment with the view to getting himself insured after this. There also seems to be general confusion over the length of the ban.”
Deputy District Judge Trevor Browne said: “I don’t believe what he has told you about not understanding this. It is simple – if you are in doubt you ask.”
Asenov was disqualified from driving for two years and was ordered to pay a fine of £900, along with the offender’s levy of £15.
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