A driver collapsed to the ground in shock after receiving a huge fine for allegedly using his phone while behind the wheel – but claims he had his wallet in his hand.
The 62-year-old was driving in Bankstown, south-west of Sydney, when he was captured by a mobile detection camera on April 21.
He received a letter in the mail on Tuesday informing him that he had been caught talking on the phone and that he had been fined $387 and that, as a result, he had lost 10 demerit points, double the normal amount.
His son Husni Tarmizi was with his father when he opened the letter and said the 62-year-old immediately went into shock and needed help to lift him off the ground.
Tarmizi said the photograph should exonerate his father and the family has already appealed.
The photo shows the man holding a $50 bill in his right hand that is on the steering wheel, lending credence to his claim that the item in his left hand was his wallet rather than a phone.
A Sydney man who collapsed after being fined for being on the phone claimed he had his wallet in his hand and said his phone was safely stored in a holder (pictured).
“I went to the computer and downloaded the image and I could clearly see that it is a wallet (in his hand), you can see that his phone is in the holder,” he said. yahoo.
“In his left hand you can see his wallet and in his right hand he holds a $50 bill.”
Tarmizi explained that his father is “old school” and barely uses his phone.
The 62-year-old man had left home to refuel his car at the gas station around the corner from his house.
He was hit with an exorbitant number of demerit points after they doubled due to the Easter long weekend.
The father is now on the verge of having his license suspended, as New South Wales offers a maximum accrual of 13 points before canceling the driver’s licence.
Tarmizi said he was “a little scared” by his father’s reaction to the fine, as he lives with a heart condition.
“For the older generation, who don’t understand technologies and stuff, it’s scary,” he said.
Tarmizi confirmed he appealed the fine after others told him to contest it and is waiting for a response.
Another man, Frank Singh, received the same fine despite never having owned a mobile phone, or even a computer, and took Revenue NSW to court.
He had been paid $362 after being caught on a mobile phone detection camera on the Pacific Highway in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales last September.
Your son has appealed the violation and is waiting for a response (file image)
Footage captured by traffic detection cameras showed Mr Singh behind the wheel, holding and looking at an object in his left hand.
“It could be my wallet,” he said when asked what the item could be.
While Singh admitted he couldn’t specifically remember what he was doing at the time, he believed he was possibly placing his wallet on the passenger seat after paying for gas.
Despite facing thousands of dollars in legal fees if he lost his appeal, the 77-year-old stood his ground and Revenue NSW eventually overturned the fine following a review.