Ah Hpong Malong convicted after Wagga Railway Station trip ends in drunken roundabout smash

Tolland man Ah Hpong Malong, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of driving with a mid-range PCA and one count of negligent driving in Wagga Local Court on Wednesday.

About 12.40am on Saturday April 15, police were called to a crash at the intersection of Bourke and Urana streets.

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Highway patrol officers found a silver Mazda 2 sedan abandoned with significant damage to its front, undercarriage and rear on the kerb beside the Bourke Street entrance to the Wagga Showground.

Police noted the 'keep left' sign on the median strip at the opposite side of the roundabout had been flattened.

Officers also saw tyre marks leading through the centre of the roundabout and passing through large shrubs to where the vehicle was located.

After a search of the nearby streets, police located the driver, Malong, walking down nearby Wooden Street.

Malong smelled strongly of alcohol and handed over his driver's licence, admitting to the driving and causing the crash.

After a roadside breath test returned a result above the legal limit, police took him to Wagga police station where he returned a secondary reading of 0.14.

Speaking with police, Malong admitted to drinking at the Tolland Hotel on Bourke Street earlier that night where he consumed two schooners of Carlton Dry, although police questioned whether he actually had much more than that.

Police also noted he didn't consume any food with the alcohol and was "heavily intoxicated for someone who only weighs about 60 kilograms".

Malong said he had been on his way to pick up relatives arriving at Wagga Railway Station.

Appearing before Magistrate Rebecca Hosking in court on Wednesday, Malong's lawyer said his client has been in Australia for more than seven years since fleeing his home country of Myanmar as a refugee in 2015.

The court heard it was a first offence and that a "spur of the moment" decision led to his "error of judgement".

Magistrate Hosking was asked to take into account that Malong needs to drive for work and requested he be handed the minimum disqualification period.

References tendered to the court painted Malong as a "highly respected" member of Wagga's Myanmar Christian community and as someone who "lends a hand to assist whenever he is asked to".

Magistrate Hosking noted Malong pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity but noted the drink driving charge was at the high end of objective seriousness while the negligent driving matter was also above mid-range.

Malong was convicted, fined $1430, and disqualified from driving for six months, after which he must have an interlock device fitted in his car for a further 12 months.

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