Road safety experts have condemned a driver who faked his own death to avoid paying £180 in speeding fines.
Shafkat Munir, 26, from Blackburn, Lancashire, produced a false death certificate to the authorities after speed cameras snapped him three times. He admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed last week for 12 months, and banned from driving. Instead of faking his death, he should have beaten it back to pakiland, that's the usual recourse.
John Davies, of Lancashire's Road Safety Partnership, said Munir's con was "almost unbelievable". "Munir's licence was clean before this spate of incidents and he would have still been able to drive - I have never known anyone go to such lengths," Mr Davies added. "Excess speed is at least partly to blame for one in three deaths on Lancashire's roads and speed limits are in place to protect us."
Munir was first caught speeding in January last year on the M55 in Lancashire by doing 66mph on a 50mph stretch. Then he was snapped by a camera doing 36 mph in a 30mph zone on Preston New Road in Blackpool. The third time was in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, when he was doing 41mph in a 30mph zone.
A man claiming to be called Rashid Hussain contacted the parking office, claiming that Munir had died in Pakistan in 2002. A death certificate in Urdu was sent in, but inaccuracies were found.
When police called a number given by Rashid Hussain, the recipient confirmed he was, in fact Munir. He admitted fabricating the story to avoid paying the fines. At Preston Crown Court Munir admitted three counts of perverting the course of justice and was given three 12-month prison sentences, to run concurrently. He was banned from driving for 18 months.
Mr Davies added: "All credit to investigating officers across the forces for their determination to bring this man to face justice. Those caught speeding will be prosecuted and may well trigger investigations into previous offences if the slightest suspicion is raised."
#4
Reminds me of an old Hill Street Blues subplot dealing with the SWAT team's much admired urban assault vehicle. It gets jacked and is discovered stripped and burned in an empty lot later. Life imitating art.
#5
"[I]t was stolen in the city's Wedding district when two officers jumped out to chase a joy-rider on foot ... [t]hey have no leads on who may have stolen the car."
Howzabout an accomplice of the running "joyrider"?
By Jove, Holmes, I think we may have a clue! (Unlike the cops...)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/21/2008 9:59 Comments ||
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#6
Those German cops are a bit rough on their BMWs:
Posted by: Mike ||
01/21/2008 14:18 Comments ||
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SYDNEY - Two Australian graffiti artists drowned when a flash storm swept them along a drain they had been spray painting in Sydney before trapping them at its barred ocean outlet, police said.
A third graffiti artist, who remained conscious during the ordeal, managed to squeeze himself through the bars and into the ocean where he was rescued by surfers on Sunday.
Its believed three people, two men and one woman, were allegedly spray painting the walls of a stormwater drain at Maroubra (Beach), when it started to rain, police said in a statement on Monday.
"Hey guys, think we'll be safe in here?"
"Sure we're safe, and we're out of the rain this way!"
As a result of the storm, the drain is believed to have filled with water, trapping the two men and a woman inside, before they were washed further down the drain toward Lurline Bay about 1km away, said police.
One man and a woman drowned. The other man, who survived, waved for help until local surfers arrived.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Did their fresh art work survive the onrushing water?
#3
Graffiti painters are not "artists," they are thieves and vandals. These two did not deserve to die for their foolish antics but that is the sentence nature sometimes pronounces for such behavior.
Posted by: Gromomble Oppressor of the Iowans8916 ||
01/21/2008 1:14 Comments ||
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#4
I am not certain graffiti writing is a heritable trait but there is probably a Darwin award for hanging out in storm sewers.
#5
nothing sez "artiste" better than your spray-painted scrawl on the inside of a stormdrain pipe, that's when you know you've arrived! The crowd applauds ....ow wait, that's the roar of a flood of water....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 11:17 Comments ||
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#6
Ummm, Graffiti inside a storm drain?
Who would ever see it?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/21/2008 16:54 Comments ||
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#7
Ummm, Graffiti inside a storm drain?
Who would ever see it?
the crews extracting their bodies ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 17:56 Comments ||
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#8
nothing sez "artiste" better than your spray-painted scrawl on the inside of a stormdrain pipe, that's when you know you've arrived! The crowd applauds ....ow wait, that's the roar of a flood of water....
#12
I think most people are missing the point. If he dons and doffs a sweater twice, he could jump a car battery. Crank him on a spit and you have AC power.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 14:50 Comments ||
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#13
Snowy is ginger? I alwayz figured he was white or blondish.
Posted by: Bobby Fischer ||
01/21/2008 18:13 Comments ||
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#14
Thanks for the warning. THere are things you cannto unsee. And you apparently helped me avoid one of them today.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 09:55 ||
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He said special arrangements were being made to pay soldiers, police and other uniformed services "because it is not desirable to see them paid in foreign currency queuing for cash".
Gono said with higher denomination bills businesses might be tempted to again raise prices of scarce goods.
"If this happens the whole objective of solving the cash shortages and to bring convenience to the people will be defeated," he said.
In August 2006, the central bank slashed three zeros from the nation's old currency.
#2
Zimbabwe, where everyone is a millionaire, but your dollar still has maximum value - proposed selling point for a travel brochure.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 14:44 Comments ||
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#3
It's Bob's final payment to the Chinese for their war of liberating Africa for the Chinese. I would wager that ALL Zimbobland's raw materials are being shipped to China for baksheesh back-handers that are worthless even as they're given.
Sunglasses and plastic flip-flops, anyone?
(I'm off to get myself a 15 million buck burger to frame, 2 x 10Mill notes on the way, so I'll have some change).
JEDDAH - The Saudi Red Crescent Society plans to expand its air ambulance services to cover every area within the kingdom, according to Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, president of the Society.
Ammo for everyone!
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
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Moon god to the rescue. Wait she was raped and beaten, quick stone her. To please Allen of course.
#3
You would think they would want roads "everywhere" before they provide ambulance service to every sand dune. Maybe they should spend some petro dollars on a Steven Covey seminar.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 15:03 Comments ||
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#4
I'd recommend Russian aircraft. They really are the most reliable.
#8
COD4 rocks, best game I've ever played. Handle is jaegershot for those xBox Live folks on rantburg.
This review could have been better, more along the lines of the HItler is banned from xBox Live videos. The potential is incredible.
PUTIN: Now I'm referring to the map titled Pipeline. This is clearly based on the Stoyschnia plant outside of Stalingrad except they have intentionlly left out the distillery equipment. This is an insult to the Russian people and I demand a patch!
And the map called shipment. What a joke. I've been to this location a dozen times and where is the snow? Even in the height of summer I froze my left testicle off there. The makers of COD4 aim for realism but they miss the mark entirely on this map.
"It took a long time after the cartoon riots before a dialogue between the various population groups could be fostered in Denmark. We were very afraid that that we would be kicking Muslims in the shins by explaining to them that freedom of expression is very important to western society."
Dutch integration should serve as an example for the rest of Europe. If it were up to Danish mayor Jakob Hougaard, more European leaders would visit Amsterdam in future to learn from the Dutch approach to integration issues.
Hougaard met with Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen on Monday and talked with policymakers in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to hear how the Netherlands has succeeded in regaining a balance between the various population groups after the murder of Theo van Gogh.
Hougaard praised in particular the approach to so-called hotspots' in Amsterdam, areas in the city where there is a lot of crime and nuisance. "You are very good at communicating here in the Netherlands," says Hougaard, who is in charge of the integration portfolio in Copenhagen.
"It took a long time after the cartoon riots before a dialogue between the various population groups could be fostered in Denmark. We were very afraid that that we would be kicking Muslims in the shins by explaining to them that freedom of expression is very important to western society."
He praised the way dialogue with the Muslim community takes place in the Netherlands. "With campaigns like We Amsterdam' Job Cohen managed to get everyone looking in the same direction." What Copenhagen succeeds at better, however, is in integrating the various cultures in education. "In that respect you could learn a lot from Denmark," says Hougaard.
"In Copenhagen we do not have any black or white schools, as is still the case in the Netherlands. You have to attack these problems at the root; mixed schools teach children early on how positive it is to live with all religious and ethnic groups in harmony."
The Danish city politician also praised the approach to problem neighbourhoods in Rotterdam. "The renovation and rebuilding of run down buildings there is exemplary," he said. Another Dutch measure that Copenhagen will certainly adopt is the preventative surveillance cameras in the Amsterdam city centre.
"That is something I am going to champion," he said. "The figures show indisputably that this kind of initiative works excellently as a preventative measure."
Hougaard hopes that Amsterdam representatives will soon honour Copenhagen with a visit. "I even think I'd like to expand the initiative to other European cities," he said. "The large cities are almost all struggling with the same problems. In this time of unification and uniformity it can only benefit us to listen to each other closely and be willing to learn from each other.""It took a long time after the cartoon riots before a dialogue between the various population groups could be fostered in Denmark. We were very afraid that that we would be kicking Muslims in the shins by explaining to them that freedom of expression is very important to western society."
#1
Muslims hardly support the Dutch status quo, with open prostitution and drug dealing, and respect for women's rights. When they have the numbers, more Van Goghs will face jihad terror wrath.
#8
"In Copenhagen we do not have any black or white schools, as is still the case in the Netherlands. You have to attack these problems at the root; mixed schools teach children early on how positive it is to live with all religious and ethnic groups in harmony."
Maybe we can travel to Holland to deiscover the secret of fire as well.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 15:06 Comments ||
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Michigan will no longer let illegal immigrants get driver's licenses, a practice just seven other states continue to allow.
Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, who oversees the state motor vehicle department, announced the new policy Monday and said it takes effect Tuesday.
Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington do not require drivers to prove legal status to obtain a license.
#2
Suspect it will get interesting for the people in Hawaii if Homeland Security actually enforces the law and refuses to honor the Hawaii drivers licenses as legitimate ID to board a plane for the mainland.
Hanoi, Vietnam (AHN) - A ton of live snakes have been discovered by Vietnamese Customs officials onboard a plane from Bangkok. Custom officials said the snakes were contained inside 60 boxes marked 'fresh fish,' onboard the cargo hull of a Thai Air plane. "Who knows what would have happened if they had broken out and crawled around the plane when it was flying?" Dao Van Lien, head of customs at Hanoi airport said. I do. I've seen the movie
"It's an amazing number of snakes," he added.
Custom officials said they believe that rat snakes, which are non-venomous, may have been destined for restaurants either in China or Vietnam where they are considered delicacies.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Road safety experts have condemned a driver who faked his own death to avoid paying £180 in speeding fines. 
Two graffiti artists drown in Sydney
