Man fined for not following order banning him from CBD

A TOOWOOMBA man has been hit in the back pocket for trying to enter a nightclub while being banned from entering the CBD.

William Oliver Te’o appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to contravening a police banning order.

The court was told the 18year-old had been handed a banning order on March 6, barring him from the Toowoomba Safe Night Precinct after he was allegedly involved in a fight with another man.

Police prosecutor, Senior Constable Chris Willson, said the order was in effect until April 5, but about 11.30pm on March 31 Te’o attempted to enter the Cube Hotel but was refused entry as a result of the banning notice.

The court was told when questioned by police on April 7 as to why he had entered the CBD he said he believed the order had expired.

Te’o’s solicitor Alysha Jacobsen said her client was a second-year apprentice working on laying floors.

Ms Jacobsen said the circumstances around her client’s ban from the Safe Night Precinct came after a woman approached him and his friends claiming to have been “hurt” by her boyfriend, with the group then confronting the male.

Acting magistrate Lisa O’Neill fined Te’o $150, with no conviction recorded.