Surfers bender costly
‘I remember waking up in a cell’
A MAN swearing loudly and following police in the Surfers Paradise party precinct woke up in a watchhouse cell a Central Queensland court has been told.
Ariana Tiariki Tereina Ihaka-Rimene, 24, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to being intoxicated in a public place.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Kevin Ongheen said at 3.25am on January 15, police were patrolling the night precinct at Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise.
Sgt Ongheen said Ihaka-Rimene approached police officers and stood close to them while talking loudly to someone on his phone. Police moved away from Ihaka-Rimene but he followed them.
“He (Ihaka-Rimene) continued swearing on his phone as he was speaking – he was warned several times to lower his voice and stop swearing,” Sgt Ongheen said.
“He appeared to not understand this direction.”
Sgt Ongheen said police again moved away from Ihaka-Rimene but he again followed them.
Officers once more asked him to stop swearing but he did not seem to understand the direction.
“He (Ihaka-Rimene) appeared highly intoxicated and he was arrested and transported to the watchhouse,” Sgt Ongheen said.
The court heard that Ihaka-Rimene had a previous similar offence on his history from 2021.
A self-represented IhakaRimene told Magistrate Philippa Beckinsale that he was “obviously intoxicated” on the night of his offending.
“I didn’t realise or understand my actions until – I remember waking up in a cell and thinking: ‘F---, what have I done?’”
Ms Beckinsale immediately asked Ihaka-Rimene if he had a habit of swearing to which he replied: “I usually have never been a big swearer but I’ve noticed I’ve been working with a lot of people that like to swear a bit, and I think it’s kind of rubbed off on me a little bit.”
Ms Beckinsale then said she’d hate for Ihaka-Rimene to think it was clever to swear in court. Ihaka-Rimene apologised. Ms Beckinsale then gave him some advice.
“Look, if there’s a problem with your drinking, now’s the time to moderate it,” she told Ihaka-Rimen.
“If you are waking up without a memory, it means you’ve written off brain cells – you’ve killed them in that episode.
“And you only get born with a limited number of brain cells.”
Ms Beckinsale fined IhakaRimene $400 and she did not record a conviction.