KEY POINTS:
A man caught driving while drunk explained to a court he had fled from his house after seeing a naked man in his hallway.
Fraser Ian Alexander Smith, 50, told the Palmerston North District Court yesterday he had recently split from his wife and had sought solace in alcohol.
He had been drinking on the morning of June 12 and came home to discover his estranged wife had brought another man home, the Evening Standard reported.
Defending himself in court, Smith told Judge Gregory Ross the man was walking down the hall naked.
"I left the house straight away. It could have been a worse situation if I hadn't."
Smith drove off in his car. He was stopped by police just before noon and recorded a breath alcohol reading of 816 micrograms per litre of breath.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.
Judge Ross said he was sympathetic to the situation that prompted Smith to leave the house, but said Smith's decision to drive was the wrong one and he must face the consequences.
He was fined $700, ordered to pay $130 court costs and disqualified from driving for six months.
- NZPA
