Man caught drink-driving five times

A repeat drink-driver who racked up his fifth conviction has been disqualified from driving, and will have to resit his licence.

Rangi Junior Haenga, 59, was driving a Nissan on High St in Renwick, near Blenheim, when he was stopped by police for a routine breath test on October 18.

Haenga gave a positive breath test and was taken to the Blenheim police station for an evidential breath test, where he returned a result of 834 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg.

When spoken to by police,

Haenga admitted drinking alcohol before driving, but said he had only two drinks.

Haenga, a machine operator of Springlands, admitted a charge of drink-driving for the third or subsequent time at the Blenheim District Court on Monday. He represented himself from the dock, telling Judge Tony Zohrab he had ‘‘not much to say about it’’.

Haenga was convicted of drink-driving in 1989, 1993, 1996 and 2004, Judge Zohrab said.

‘‘Most people manage to go through their lives without any drink-driving convictions. You’ve got five. This suggests to me you’ve got issues as far as alcohol is concerned.’’

Drivers convicted for breath test readings over 800mcg were subject to alcohol interlock legislation, meaning it was compulsory for them to pay for a device to be installed on their car’s ignition. The car would not start without a clear breath test, and failed tests could lengthen the sentence. However, Haenga said he had already sold his car, which made him ineligible for an interlock sentence.

Judge Zohrab convicted Haenga and sentenced him to nine months’ supervision, with conditions to do alcohol and drug assessments and counselling as directed by probation.

Haenga was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and a day, after which he would have to resit his licence, before serving a three-year zero-alcohol licence.

‘‘Most people manage to go through their lives without any drink-driving convictions. You’ve got five. This suggests to me you’ve got issues as far as alcohol is concerned.’’ Judge Tony Zohrab