Lingerie-clad drink driver’s ‘poor decisions’
A woman who was busted drink driving in leather lingerie when she collided with a man on an e-scooter has been sentenced for her “very very poor decisions”.
Cindy Pham, 27, was driving along South Dowling St in Moore Park at 3.45am on February 3 when an e-bike rider moved into the path of her car and the vehicles collided.
The court documents reveal Pham – who was wearing black leather lingerie at the time – was not at fault for the collision.
However, she failed the roadside breath test administered by police.
The 27-year-old returned a reading of 0.095, which is just shy of twice the legal limit.
She wore a tight-fitting all black outfit when she appeared in the Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday to be sentenced for mid-range drink driving.
Her lawyer told the court Pham realised she was “at the proverbial fork in the road in her life”.
He said she had moved back to Sydney to reconnect with her family, but she had “fallen back into making some very very poor decisions” at the time of the crash.
The court heard Pham had received a call from her friends asking if she wanted to go out on the night of February 2, so she had driven her car to Potts Point, in Sydney’s east.
She had a few drinks and decided she would be alright to drive herself home instead of staying with a friend or collecting her car in the morning, as she had originally intended.
“She made what she thought was a calculated decision but was actually intensely reckless,” Pham’s lawyer said.
He argued it wasn’t “a blatant disregard for the rules” but rather a miscalculation on her behalf.
However, Magistrate Susan Horan found there was “some difficulty” with that argument because Pham had been caught with a blood-alcohol level that was nearly twice the limit.
“That submission has more weight if it’s close to the legal limit,” she said.
“This is well past that.”
The court heard the 27-year-old had previously been convicted of another drink driving offence in Western Australia.
“It is a problematic offence in terms of public safety and the safety of other road users,” magistrate Horan said.
“I remain concerned about the reading and the fact it’s her second time.”
She sentenced Pham to a 12-month community corrections order and disqualified her from driving for nine months.
When the lingerie-loving 27-year-old is allowed to drive again, she will have to abide by an interlock order for two years.
The interlock system requires a driver to breathe into a tube to ensure they haven’t consumed any alcohol before the car is able to be driven.
Pham did not comment as she left court on Thursday and held papers in front of her face in an attempt to hide her face.
