Woman discharged without conviction having taken car

A DRUNK British woman’s decision to unlawfully take a vehicle from central Queenstown and drive it home was ‘‘remarkably stupid’’, a judge says.

However, Judge John BrandtsGiesen granted Sabina Din (28) a discharge without conviction when she appeared in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.

Din and a friend, Olivia Alice Ourabi (22), found the vehicle parked in Searle Lane with the keys inside about 4.20am on August 19.

It was being used by a cleaning business.

Din got behind the wheel after Ourabi had difficulty manoeuvring it. After taking several minutes to reverse out of the narrow lane, and damaging a bicycle leaning against a fence, she drove it about 1km to a house where they slept.

The pair told police they found it parked in the driveway after they woke up later that day, but had no memory of taking it.

Duty lawyer Liam Collins said Din had no previous convictions, and had performed 30 hours’ voluntary work for the Salvation Army.

Judge BrandtsGiesen said he accepted the offending had not been premeditated, and the defendant was ‘‘remorseful and apologetic’’.

He was alarmed by the ‘‘toxic combination’’ of Din driving a vehicle she was unfamiliar with while being extremely intoxicated.

‘‘That concerns me more, but it’s not the subject of the police charge.

‘‘There are many people in Queenstown from the United Kingdom, and other countries, who seem to think this is a place where anything goes. You should have known better.’’

Because Ourabi had been granted a discharge without conviction, it would be unfair for him to impose a different penalty.

He ordered Din to pay $540 to the vehicle’s owner as reparation for damage, and $330 to the owner of the bicycle.

Ourabi, who faced an identical charge, was granted a discharge on November 15.