Shaye Loie had been to a wedding before he was caught drink-driving in Orange

Shaye Tumae Loie, 30, from the Mitchell Highway, Lucknow, had a driver's licence in Papua New Guinea but it expired on October 16, 2021.

Solicitor Paul Longhurst said Loie had trouble renewing his driver's licence due to the COVID situation last year and he had just received some bad family news before he was caught drink-driving.

Mr Longhurst said Loie had no previous criminal record in Australia or Papua New Guinea and he completed the Traffic Offenders Intervention Program. He said Loie also attended university in Papua New Guinea that led to him getting a job as an apiarist in the Orange area.

According to police, officers were driving south on the Northern Distributor Road at 3.44am on February 13, when they saw a car exit onto Ophir Road.

The car appeared to be driving very slowly.

Due to the time of night and the slow driving, police stopped the car and subjected Loie to a breath test that returned a positive result.

He was arrested and taken to Orange Police Station that returned a mid-range reading on analysis of 0.145.

He told the police he had an unknown number of beers at a wedding throughout the day and evening.

Magistrate David Day convicted Loie and fined him $880, he also disqualified his driver's licence for three months and ordered him to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle for 12 months.

He said the reading was at the top of the mid-range and he should have felt affected.

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