Portugese driving licence was a fake
When a 31-year-old man produced a Portuguese licence to police it turned out to be a fake, Craigavon Magistrates Court heard last Wednesday.
Fidalgo Jair Veiga, Carleton Street, Portadown, was fined £100 for possession of a false identity document on November 24 last year and £100 for making a false declaration to obtain insurance.
For not having insurance on the same date he was fined £200 and given six points. He was also ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy.
The court heard that at 1.45am police stopped a man driving a car in Woodhouse Street in Portadown.
The defendant walked over to them, admitted he owned and insured the vehicle and had given him permission to drive.
He produced a Portuguese licence and insurance but police believed that the licence was a fake. An expert witness confirmed that the licence was false.
Veiga denied this saying that he had completed a driving test in Portugal and that the licence was real. He had applied for insurance thinking the licence was genuine.
A solicitor representing the defendant said he was not in a position to produce any documents to prove the licence was real.
He added that he would have to rely on his wife and friends to get him to work.