Mbabane – Bongiwe Gumbi, a 40-year-old woman of Mangwaneni, was fined E800 on Monday when found by the police occupying the driver’s seat while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug having a narcotic effect.
Gumbi appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court on the same day, following the arrest at midnight. She was charged with contravening section 91(2) in conjunction with sections 122(1) and (2) of the Road Traffic Act 6 of 2007.
According to the charge sheet, the accused was found along MR 19 Public Road, “wrongfully and unlawfully occupying the driver’s seat” of a Toyota sedan.
Gumbi’s strong smell of alcohol gave her away, the charge sheet stated. The alcohol level was also 0.69 mg/l, which is higher than the legal limit of 0.38 mg/l, so it broke the law.
Pleading guilty to the charge and asking for the court’s leniency, Gumbi said she missed a doctor’s appointment in the morning about her eye. She also said her children slept home alone.
“I had gone to see some regiments when I decided to take a few drinks,” she said.
The self-represented Gumbi also told the court that the police found her sitting at a parking lot at Mvakwelitje.
“The police found the car parked, and I was just sitting inside; that’s all,” she said prior to her fine being pronounced.
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