Jail terms for petrol non-payers, judge warns
That was the warning from Judge Con O’Leary yesterday at Cork District Court as he remarked that he had noticed the prevalence of the offence over the past two years.
“These offences have arrived out of nowhere in the last two years. They are a very mean and miserable sort of offence committed by quite a large number of people,” the judge said.
The comments were made during the case against James O’Rourke, 40, of 13 Hazel Road, Togher, Cork, who pleaded guilty to the single count of driving away without paying for €20 worth of diesel at the Centra service station in Little Island, Cork, on March 17.
Emmet Boyle, solicitor, said: “I appreciate the court is concerned with the prevalence of the offence and the deterrent effect of sentencing but Mr O’Rourke could not be blamed for this type of offence in the past.”
Mr Boyle said the defendant was a hard-working man who never committed such an offence before.
Inspector Senan Ryan said the theft was seen on CCTV and the gardaí called to the defendant’s house in relation to the matter. Mr Boyle said that when this occurred the defendant returned to the garage and paid the €20 for the diesel.
Judge O’Leary said in relation to the fact that the defendant did not do it before: “He wouldn’t have dreamt of doing it five or six years ago but now he drives in, fills up, drives off, very good, bye bye. He feels it is acceptable and achievable and I want to disabuse him of that idea fairly sharply.
“People who do it can expect to go to prison,” the judge said.
In further mitigation, Mr Boyle said the defendant had not filled up a large tank full of diesel on the day.
He said O’Rourke was embarrassed and remorseful about what he had done.
Judge O’Leary imposed a three-month jail sentence but said the motorist could do 240 hours of community service instead.
In his general remarks about the prevalence of this kind of offence, the judge said: “It is wholesale.”
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