An Indian man, from Kerala has been sentenced to 20 months of driving ban in Ireland

UK: An Indian man, from Kerala has been sentenced to 20 months of driving ban and community service for causing an accident while drunk in Northern Ireland.

The court sentenced Joji Thomas (46), who lives in Cosgrave Court, Belfast. When the police arrested him, the Malayali claimed that he had taken the drug to relieve a sore throat. Later, when a test found three times the legal limit of alcohol in his body, he was found to be drunk.

The accident took place on April 27 in Church Street, North Belfast. A car driven by a Malayali man hit a vehicle parked near a school here. The prosecution told the court that the extent of the crime was aggravated by the fact that two children, aged three and 11, were in the car at the time of the incident. The man, who jumped out of the car and entered the school after the vehicle was involved in the accident, was arrested by the police after locals informed him.

The man, who moved to Northern Ireland with his family five years ago, argued in court that he was ill on the day of the incident and could not take time off work. He explained that he was drunk after colleagues advised him to sweat to clear a throat infection.