No penalty imposed on young Derry driver who was victim of car insurance scam
A woman who was charged with driving with no insurance and who was actually 'the victim of a crime' by being the victim of an Internet insurance scam has been given no punishment at Derry Magistrate's Court.
Amie Donaghey (20) of Melmore Gardens in Derry was charged with having no insurance after she was stopped on the Rossdowney Road on August 27.
At the time she was asked to produce an insurance certificate after checks showed she was not covered.
Donaghey maintained that she was covered and produced bank statements showing she made payments through an insurance broker.
Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey said that it turned out that the broker was a scam and his client was the victim of a crime.
He said she had explained all this to the police that she had insured her car through a broker on the Internet which turned out to be fraudulent.
He asked the court not to impose any penalty on Donaghey as she thought 'quite rightly that she was insured.'
At an earlier hearing, District Judge Oonagh Mullan said she was minded to dismiss the charge but a prosecutor told the court that that could not be done as legally either a disqualification or penalty points had to be imposed.
At today's sitting Mr Harvey told the court that as the judge had found 'special reasons' exist in the case no penalty had to be imposed.
A prosecutor said that the District Judge had the discretion not to impose a penalty due to special reasons.
The guilty plea was accepted and no penalty imposed.