22 December 2023 , 21:44
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A serial speeder shamelessly gave the names of other innocent drivers three times in a bid to avoid a ban, a court heard
Shah Tarakhail, 29, thought he was being cunning but ended up giving himself a worse charge by also perverting the course of justice. The three people were put under suspicion but after police searched Tarakhail's property they found him sitting in the very car that was involved in his cover-up stories, Hull Crown Court heard.
He admitted three offences of perverting the course of justice in November and December 2021 and January 2022. In one of the cases, he had been caught speeding at 63mph in a 40mph zone.
John Bell, prosecuting, said that Tarakhail was sent three notices of intended prosecutions for three separate speeding offences in East Yorkshire involving a VW Golf. The central ticket office received completed response forms identifying somebody who was supposedly the driver on the three days of the speeding offences.
A named driver's address was given which led police to search the location. The three people named all responded by saying that the offences were nothing to do with them.
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Mr Bell said: "The defendant maintained that the driver of the vehicle wasn't him. All three people named by the defendant maintained that they were not involved in the offences or had any knowledge of the defendant or the address that he put on the form." During the police interview, Tarakhail denied the offences and declined to answer questions. He accepted that he put the three people's names on the forms. He had put them under suspicion of the offences, said Mr Bell.
Imran Khan, mitigating, said that Tarakhail claimed that he was unable to remember the entire events. He claimed that he went to another man, who provided him with letters and told him that this would be "the way forward" over the speeding matters.
The case went before Hull Crown Court (HullLive/MEN)Mr Khan said: "He made a mistake. He doesn't deny that he was responsible. He admitted wrongdoing. The offending was two years ago. He has found himself a job in a garage. He is going to be getting married soon. He has put this behind him."
Tarakhail, who had a Pashto interpreter to help him in court, had no previous convictions. Judge John Thackray KC said that, at the minimum, Tarakhail had escaped having nine penalty points put on his driving licence.
He would have been likely to have got six points for the first offence. Judge Thackray said he believed the motivation behind the offence was to preserve the driving licence.
He continued: "There needs to be a deterrent that you don't escape sanction for bad driving. This involved you attempting to avoid speeding tickets. Offences like this undermine the criminal justice system."
Tarakhail was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence, 20 days' rehabilitation and a six-month 9pm to 6am electronically monitored curfew. He was banned from driving for 28 days.