By Antoinette Milienos For Daily Mail Australia
05:58 May 14, 2023, updated 05:58 May 14, 2023
- The Sydney driver, 35, was trying to eat a packet of Dippits
- He was caught by a high-tech phone spy camera
- The man told the court how he opened the cheese dip
A Sydney driver who was fined for using a mobile phone while driving has beaten the charge after proving he was carrying a Le Snak-style cheese packet.
The 35-year-old man was caught on a high-tech phone surveillance camera as he drove along Anzac Parade in Moore Park at 7.36pm on June 29 last year.
He received a notice in the mail on August 9 informing him that he had been fined $352 and given five demerit points for driving while holding a phone.
His defense lawyer Benjamin Goh used the “Le Snak defence” in the Downing Center Local Court on Monday arguing that his client was “just trying to have afternoon tea”.
“You can only be found guilty of driving while carrying a mobile phone if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you were actually carrying a phone,” Goh said, according to The Daily Telegraph.
“My client was in reasonable control of the vehicle because the photograph showed his left hand was in contact with the steering wheel as he was trying to open the package.
“My client is a hard working Australian who was just trying to have his afternoon tea after finishing work.”
To clear his name, the Western Sydney man took to the witness box and argued he was trying to open a packet of Dippits – Aldi’s version of Uncle Toby’s Le Snak.
The man was given a packet of Dippits and asked to demonstrate how he opened the seal in the same way that was photographed by the high-tech camera.
He held the cheese in his right palm and used his index finger and thumb to open the cracked end.
The driver said he explained the difference between the cracker end and the cheese end of a Dippit, choosing to open the food from the bottom of the cracker because it contains two non-sealing rings that make it easy to open the top seal.
The court also heard the man had bought three Dippits while at work on the day he was caught on camera.
Magistrate Miranda Moody found the man to be a credible and reliable witness and overturned the fine and five demerit points sentence.
Goh, who has practiced law for 20 years and has represented drug suppliers, murderers and thieves, said he was ‘amazed’ by the Dippits case.
“I never cease to be amazed at the nature of unusual cases that present themselves,” said Goh.
High-tech mobile phone detection cameras have been in use in NSW since March 2020, with trials taking place from November 2022 to enable the cameras to also detect seatbelt offences.
In NSW, it is not illegal to eat while driving as long as the driver is in full control of their car.
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