A 22-year-old Aussie driver who decided to ignore a "major defect notice" on his Nissan 200 SX was busted after rather brilliantly boasting of his escape from cops in an internet chat room.

Maurice John was pulled at a roadblock in Melbourne's South Yarra district at 11pm on 12 August 2006. Police issued said major defect notice - known locally as a "canary" due to its distictive yellow colour - for two bald tyres. Acting Sergeant James Robbins stuck the notice to John's windscreen, but then rather generously gave the perp an hour to take his wheels home rather than cop a tow.

John, however, decided to use the opportunity to "party on", as The Age puts it. Two days later, he described his escape to a nissansilvia.com chat room thus:

Saturday night, cruising through Chaps [Chapel Street] looking for a car park so I can go 2 Chasers! The usual cops that are always kickin back in front of Chasers/KFC, wasting taxpayers money … I got done for having 2 semi-racing slicks on the back which were a little bit bald! Motherf---ers. It was 11pm. The officer gave me till midnight to get the car home or it would have to be towed! I tried negotiating with him 2 let me drive it tomorrow, but didn't happen.

Anyways, they let me go. I was more pissed off that I had 2 go home & get another car when Im in front of my destination.

So, instead I go around the block & park in the multi-level car park behind KFC … Walked straight in and rocked all night!

He then announced he'd peeled off and ditched the major defect notice, and made his way homeward.

You can guess the rest. Melbourne Magistrates Court heard yesterday that "among the visitors to the chat room was the diligent Acting Sergeant Robbins, who regularly scans such sites as part of the unit's investigative work". Robbins quickly recognised the ne'er-do-well, whose crowing duly earned him an appearance before the beak.

To add to John's woes, he was in fact "a disqualified probationary driver who gave a false name". He pleaded guilty to five offences, "including two charges of driving while disqualified", and was "jailed for one month, the term suspended for 12 months, fined $400 and had his licence cancelled for a year".

Magistrate Angela Bolger warned John that "driving while disqualified was regarded as a contempt of the law and a prison sentence was mandatory for a second offence".

John described himself to The Age as "shattered". ®

Bootnote

Thanks to Richard Cislowski for the tip-off.

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