A 24-year-old Indian man in Australia Thursday received a 10-month suspended sentence and was disqualified from driving for nine months for "high-range" drink driving and "driving while disqualified".
Surya Teja Penugonda from Telangana pleaded guilty to both charges in Parramatta Local Court.
Magistrate Brett Shields placed him on a 10-month suspended sentence and disqualified him from driving for nine months, South Coast Register newspaper reported.
Penugonda, who is living on a student visa, was also fined him USD 750, the report said, adding that the judge also ordered him to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle for four years.
The drink driving incident took place on July 8.
Penugonda, who was driving along with four other people in the car, was pulled over by the police in south of Nowra.
According to the court papers, police officers had witnessed the vehicle swerving between lanes and it almost collided with the nearside gutter when it came to a stop.
According to officers, Penugonda smelt strongly of intoxicating liquor, however he claimed he had nothing to drink.
Police said he was driving on an international licence and had been disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months after being caught "high-range" drink driving on January 6.
Penugonda was also supposed to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle. It took three attempts to successfully provide his breath test, which produced a positive result, the report said.
The police said his eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated, his breathing was slow, speech was slurred and he was clumsy. He later admitted to the police that he had six glasses of wine that day.
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