Council accused of parking ticket scam
A Gladstone Park motorist has accused his local council of 'doctoring' photo evidence of his car in order to contest a parking fine dispute.
Robert Watson says his Daihatsu Applause was legally parked in a one hour space outside a supermarket in Moonee Ponds when he was fined.
Angry and armed with a camera, he took photos as evidence to contest the ticket, alleging he had parked in a loading zone.
So determined to prove his innocence, he had the photo verified by a nearby police station as a true and correct copy.
Two weeks later, Mooney Valley City Council sent back its own version, but Mr Watson says it's a fake with tell-tale signs.
He alleges the signpost has been moved and the sign's content blurred - a claim strongly refuted by the council.
"I'm not sure how they've done it, but it's definitely been faked on the computer with computer generated imagery," he said.
"The shadows are in the wrong place, and the bumper bar of the silver car in front of my car is the same car in the legitimate photo."
The Moonee Valley City Council says without a time stamp on Mr Watson's photos, they mean very little.
The council's photo is dated with a time of day 11.41am, just one minute after the ticket was issued.
There will be a private meeting between the parties tomorrow.
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