A motorist who later provided Albury police with a breath test sample more than four times the legal blood alcohol limit was so well-affected he couldn't drive off.
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Gurneet Singh came to the attention of police, Albury Local Court heard on Monday, because neighbours heard the extremely loud revving of his car's engine.
When they arrived, the car was parked in the street with Singh in the driver's seat.
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They opened his door to see Singh trying to put the key back in the car's ignition.
An inspection revealed how Singh, while trying to drive away, had damaged panels on his car, which also had a tree branch lodged in a side indicator.
Magistrate Sally McLaughlin was told Singh's initial reading, from drinking whisky, was 0.204.
If this was repeated when he undertook a breath analysis after his arrest he would have been charged with driving with a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol.
But that never eventuated as Singh couldn't manage that task after three attempts.
Ultimately this led to Singh, 33, of the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, pleading guilty on Monday to a single charge of refusing or failing to submit to a breath analysis.
Defence lawyer Mark Cronin said Singh moved to Australia from India in 2008 and got married there in January, with his now-pregnant wife to soon join him.
Mr Cronin said Singh had since lost his job as a heavy vehicle driver. The court was told how police attended an address in Lyne Street, Lavington, on June 3 just before 2am.
They had received a report that Singh was, while under the influence of alcohol, trying to drive a car.
A witness told them Singh was repeatedly going forward then reversing.
The car's engine was revving loudly so was clearly heard by nearby residents.
Police immediately came upon a silver Mitsubishi Lancer parked outside a house, with Singh behind the wheel fumbling with the car's key.
They noticed he was clearly "well-affected" by alcohol, as his speech was slurred.
Singh lost his licence for 12 months and was fined $620.
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