A drink-driving chemistry student who caused a car accident claimed that his positive alcohol reading was caused by strong mouthwash.
PHD student Ali Alzahrani appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted crashing his silver Ford C-Max while more than three times the drink-drive limit on Roslyn Street.
When police arrived at the crash site, they found three cans of Tennents on the 38-year-old’s front passenger seat.
But despite testing positive for alcohol, the Aberdeen University post-grad maintained that he wasn’t drunk and didn’t drink alcohol.
Resident witnessed car crash
Fiscal depute Alan Townsend told the court that at around 10.40pm on September 3 this year a witness who lives on Urquhart Road was sitting on his windowsill when he saw Alzahrani’s Ford travelling at excessive speed.
The car collided with another vehicle at the junction where Urquhart Road meets Roslin Street, causing it to spin and come to a stop across the road.
As police arrived Alzahrani was required to provide a breath test, which gave a positive result for alcohol.
And as officers looked into the car, they saw three cans of Tennents Lager sitting on the passenger seat.
Back at Kittybrewster Police Station, Alzahrani gave a reading of 67 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mg.
Claimed he was tee-total
However, despite this, Alzahrani continued to lie that he doesn’t drink alcohol and proceeded the repeatedly deny that he had been drinking alcohol that day – telling officers he had just been using an alcohol-based mouthwash.
Alzahrani, who comes from Saudi Arabia, pleaded guilty to one charge of being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
He also admitted a second charge of driving carelessly and without due care or attention.
Defence solicitor Matthew Perlow said that although his client initially insisted that he didn’t drink alcohol, he had been “drinking the previous evening and into the early morning”.
“Because he comes from Saudi Arabia, he was reluctant to admit that he was drinking alcohol,” Mr Pelow said.
“He appears contrite for his behaviour.”
Mr Perlow also added that his client had told police that he got into the car accident because there was an overhanging tree “obstructing the give way sign” at the junction.
Sheriff Philip Mann told Alzahrani that he should be well aware of the “dangers of drink-driving”.
He disqualified Alzahrani, of Regent Walk, Aberdeen, from driving for 16 months and fined him a total of £740.
