A MAN suspected of drink-driving refused police requests to give a breath sample – claiming that he might catch AIDS from the police van.
Liam Haigh had drunkenly tried to drive his car away from the Frontier Club in Batley after a night out with friends.
After refusing officers’ requests for a roadside breath test he continued to obstruct their investigation at the police station.
Yesterday Kirklees magistrates banned him from driving for three years.
Paul Ramsay, prosecuting, told the Huddersfield bench that the incident happened just after 4am on May 7.
He said police officers were on duty near the Bradford Road club in a public order van.
Their attention was drawn to Haigh, 27, who was driving in the nightclub’s car park.
Mr Ramsay said: “He smelt strongly of intoxicants and his eyes appeared glazed. He was asked to accompany them to the police van and he staggered there.
“Believing him to be drunk they asked him to provide a breath sample and get in the van.
“He said to them: ‘I’m not going into that, I’ll get AIDS’.”
Haigh, of Allen Road in Bradford, was taken to Dewsbury Police Station.
He was described as being obstructive and failed eight further requests to give breath samples.
The bench was told that Haigh was convicted in December 2003 for drink-driving. He has a further conviction to his name for being drunk and disorderly.
David Ward, for Haigh said that his client had been too drunk to provide the sample, although that wasn’t a reasonable excuse.
As well as disqualifying him from driving, magistrates fined him £220 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge.
