$10,000 in reparation for $13,000 worth of damage

A car dealer has dubbed the justice system ‘‘unfair’’ after a drunk driver who crashed into two of his cars was ordered to pay less than the damage he caused.

Kainamu Tamihana Whitinui faced a $13,000 repair bill after he crashed into the cars at New Plymouth’s Amber and Black Quality Cars yard on June 1.

But when he appeared at New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday for sentencing, community magistrate Robyn Paterson ordered he pay car dealer Darryl MacDonald reparation of just $10,000 at a rate of $50 per week.

MacDonald acknowledged the $10,000 was more than he expected but maintained the ruling was unfair and unjust.

‘‘He should be held accountable for what he done and pay the full amount,’’ he said.

‘‘I just don’t know how the people in court come up with these rulings – it’s unbelievable.’’

Whitinui had first appeared for sentencing before community magistrate Lesley Jensen last month, but was remanded by Jensen who said the 20-year-old should not be weighed down by a huge debt.

Jensen said then that MacDonald did not have insurance and so she would not be awarding him full reparation.

On Wednesday, MacDonald was relieved the matter had come to a close but said the damage to his cars could have been avoided if New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) allowed him to erect steel bollards outside his Northgate yard.

Instead he was instructed to install wooden bollards and as a result Whitinui’s car ploughed straight through them after he increased speed and lost control on a bend.

He was breath tested at the scene by police and registered a reading of 292 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250 mcgs. NZTA’s Paul Murphy said steel bollards were not allowed as they don’t absorb or dissipate the impact of a crash.

‘‘Steel bollards have a tendency to cause greater injury to people in a crash situation,’’ he said.