Lisburn businessman told PSNI he was 'driving like an ass' when caught travelling on the M1 at 109mph near Portadown in his new Audi e-tron, Craigavon court hears
A Co Antrim businessman, who was caught driving at 109mph on the M1, had been driving his new Audi e-tron, a court has heard.
Ashley Tsang, aged 33, from Wood Vale, Lisburn appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with speeding.
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On August 2 this year at 9.45am, police were conducting a laser speed check on the M1 Birches junction and spotted an Audi e-tron coming from Belfast.
The speed detected was 109mph
After police stopped the defendant on the slip road off the M1, Tsang said: “Sorry, I was driving like an ass.”
His barrister, Mr Conor Lunny, said that “sums it up”.
“He has no excuse whatsoever,” said the barrister adding the car was a relatively new electric car.
"He was travelling away from Belfast intending to come off the Birches roundabout and on the inside lane were two lorries. He made the unwise decision to overtake them rather than wait in the slower lane. He did ultimately get into the Birches lane and that was where the police ultimately apprehended him,” said Mr Lunny.
"He is self-aware enough to know he shouldn’t be doing that speed and that realisation dawned on him fairly quickly,” said the solicitor.
“He has been driving without any blemish at all for the best part of 15 years,” he said.
"He is the managing director of a business which is doing extremely well throughout the island of Ireland. He is required to drive to various customers throughout the whole island of Ireland,” said Mr Lunny, adding that Tsang also employs 11 people.
He added that the defendant is also the main driver in his family but tends not to due to health issues.
“He knows he has put his licence in some jeopardy by virtue of that speed,” said Mr Lunny.
The barrister invited the court to consider a short period of disqualification.
"A few weeks wouldn’t be such an incumbrance on his business,” Mr Lunny said. “Anything longer might create issues in terms of bringing people to site meetings.”
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said he had to invoke some form of disqualification “otherwise I would be sending out entirely the wrong message”.
He banned Tsang from driving for three weeks from Tuesday and fined him £300 with the offender levy of £15.