Photo: Manchester Evening News
No matter how good you become at something, you should never get cocky. Just because it's worked a thousand times before, it doesn't mean it can't all go down in just a few minutes. This man from Britain found that out the hard way.
Waqas Choundhry is a 48-year-old business owner. He runs a furniture company, and he's used to delivering his products himself all around the country. We all know what driving a white van does to any man who's ever tried it: it turns them into bona fide Swedish rally drivers with unparalleled skills and an unquenchable thirst for speed.
That's why Mr. Choudhry has managed to gather dozens of speeding offenses over the years, but up until now, he had managed to dodge them all. By employing a not-so-complicated scheme, he succeeded in sending the law enforcers on false trails that always came up to a dead end. How did he do that?
Well, first of all, he drove really fast. After honing his skills on the white van, he then clocked the rest of the tickets driving less inspiring cars such as Porsche Cayennes, Range Rovers, or multiple Mercedes. Then, as he received a notice of intended prosecution, he would invent a Pakistani name, assign a false date of birth and use one of the six properties his family owned as an address for the fictional man. You know what they say: if it's stupid but it works, then it's not stupid.
He finally ran out of luck while back in a white van. The vehicle was used to deliver furniture made by his company, Speedy Sofas (oh, the irony) and Mr. Choudhry was speeding, as usual. He even had the audacity to make the “V sign” (or peace, victory, take your pick) to the traffic camera, knowing he'd be recorded. The car had an “untraceable foreign plate” which had previously been showing up all over the country in speed-related offenses. It's because it used to adorn a Mercedes-Benz passenger car driven by a certain Mr. Choudhry.
Choudhry was eventually stopped in traffic and, once his connection with the fishy plate had been made, his past started to unravel piece by piece. His stunts eventually got him 18 months in jail, but that's only because he was smart enough to plead guilty. This is what Choudhry's lawyer, QC Simon Csoka, had to say about his client, as reported by the Manchester Evening News:
“He began with a catastrophic error of judgement. But that error of judgement not only had the natural tainting effect on the justice system, it had the natural tainting effect on his own judgement, it made it easier and easier for him to do it again and again.
“There was no gain for him (to falsify information) for his family. It can perhaps be described as part a coping strategy where once he had crossed the threshold to do this for himself, it became easier to do it for his family, thinking he was assisting them.
“The corrupting effect corrupted his own deeds. He can now see how this has tainted his family and the justice system in many ways.”
That's why Mr. Choudhry has managed to gather dozens of speeding offenses over the years, but up until now, he had managed to dodge them all. By employing a not-so-complicated scheme, he succeeded in sending the law enforcers on false trails that always came up to a dead end. How did he do that?
Well, first of all, he drove really fast. After honing his skills on the white van, he then clocked the rest of the tickets driving less inspiring cars such as Porsche Cayennes, Range Rovers, or multiple Mercedes. Then, as he received a notice of intended prosecution, he would invent a Pakistani name, assign a false date of birth and use one of the six properties his family owned as an address for the fictional man. You know what they say: if it's stupid but it works, then it's not stupid.
He finally ran out of luck while back in a white van. The vehicle was used to deliver furniture made by his company, Speedy Sofas (oh, the irony) and Mr. Choudhry was speeding, as usual. He even had the audacity to make the “V sign” (or peace, victory, take your pick) to the traffic camera, knowing he'd be recorded. The car had an “untraceable foreign plate” which had previously been showing up all over the country in speed-related offenses. It's because it used to adorn a Mercedes-Benz passenger car driven by a certain Mr. Choudhry.
Choudhry was eventually stopped in traffic and, once his connection with the fishy plate had been made, his past started to unravel piece by piece. His stunts eventually got him 18 months in jail, but that's only because he was smart enough to plead guilty. This is what Choudhry's lawyer, QC Simon Csoka, had to say about his client, as reported by the Manchester Evening News:
“He began with a catastrophic error of judgement. But that error of judgement not only had the natural tainting effect on the justice system, it had the natural tainting effect on his own judgement, it made it easier and easier for him to do it again and again.
“There was no gain for him (to falsify information) for his family. It can perhaps be described as part a coping strategy where once he had crossed the threshold to do this for himself, it became easier to do it for his family, thinking he was assisting them.
“The corrupting effect corrupted his own deeds. He can now see how this has tainted his family and the justice system in many ways.”
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