Drugs, Sex, Domestic Violence: Football's dark cover up

[Dion Johnson]

Surely with the recent case of the guy killing 4 kids whilst he was driving under the influence, judges should look at the cases and set an example, not gives a drugged up ex-footballer a slap on the wrist. Sad state of affairs

I think the legal system needs adjustment with these behaviours, the Australian law is very lenient on these offences.

If you want to stop people taking the risk of driving under the influence increase the punishment to time behind bars, this will get the message out loud and clear that it’s a serious risk.

At the moment fine and suspension are not getting the message out there.

 

[47MVEagle]

They said on the news his excuse for using coke was the pressure of his assault case against his father-in-law.

Disgusting liar.

The bloke's probably on the bugle every weekend.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Surely with the recent case of the guy killing 4 kids whilst he was driving under the influence, judges should look at the cases and set an example, not gives a drugged up ex-footballer a slap on the wrist. Sad state of affairs

He wasn't 'drugged up'. I abhor his domestic violence behaviour (intimidation conviction currently subject to appeal) and on-field thuggery, while also acknowledging he was a champion player.
But the offence of 'drive with drug' is very different to drive under the influence. If they could prove his ability to operate the vehicle was impaired he'd have been charged with the far more serious offence of DUI, which is a jailable offence.

The other 'Drive with drug' offence is basically a revenue raiser, if you are driving and have any trace of an illegal drug in your system you are guilty, without any suggestion that your driving ability was impaired in any way. And word of warning, some drugs remain detectable for quite a long time! Certainly long after you are intoxicated.

 

[Rafferty]

I think the legal system needs adjustment with these behaviours, the Australian law is very lenient on these offences.

If you want to stop people taking the risk of driving under the influence increase the punishment to time behind bars, this will get the message out loud and clear that it’s a serious risk.

At the moment fine and suspension are not getting the message out there.

Mate, I’m a retired publican of 17 years and I can tell you emphatically not even the death penalty would get the message across

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Mate, I’m a retired publican of 17 years and I can tell you emphatically not even the death penalty would get the message across

I could ask, 'Well if you knew half of them were going to leave the pub and drink and drive, why did you keep plying them with alcohol? But I won't 🙂
The death penalty has been proved time and again to have no deterrent effect on offending.
Effective public education campaigns, on the other hand, over time can affect behaviour standards.

 

[manlyfan76]

The death penalty has been proved time and again to have no deterrent effect on offending.

Re-offending however.

 

[globaleagle]

Surely with the recent case of the guy killing 4 kids whilst he was driving under the influence, judges should look at the cases and set an example, not gives a drugged up ex-footballer a slap on the wrist. Sad state of affairs

Yes, it gets a bit much when Judges "Harumph Harumph" and say how terrible a behaviour is... then proceed hand out a slap on the wrist.

Assuming speeding and using phones is considered dangerous, that's 30 times Sam has put lives at risk...where he has been caught. Un-licenced, un-registered all means no insurance / payment to people nor property he may plough in to.

Yet....

do a few days/weeks of re-hab and judges can't wilt fast enough.

I wonder what would happen to a non burgii or 'celeb' if caught in the same circumstance with that many previous infringements?

 

[The Who]

Court documents outlined Burgess’ lengthy traffic record, which contained 32 offences prior to February. All the offences were committed on his UK license.

The records showed how Burgess had been caught with his mobile phone 10 times and was caught by speed cameras exceeding the limit 20 times between 2010 and 2020.

Yet he escaped without a conviction! And we still believe we live in a country where everybody is treated equally....

 

[mjb136]

That 'sentence is a complete ****ing joke. The judiciary in this country are ****ing clueless, completely fail to read the room.

 

[Mal Cochrane]

We should keep this article and take it to future court appearances for any driving infringements we may find ourselves in, smile at the judge, plead guilty, compare records to Sams and ask for a sentence in keeping with that comparison.

I reckon the court would end up having to give me a case of beer, pay me $400, thank me, and advise me to be on my way.

 

[Highflier]

Id say his lawyer is outstanding as with a record like that he should be facing jail time as he has no consideration for societies rules ,he thinks they dont apply to him .I know every tiny road infringement I have had has been punished with the maximum force of the law.You get a speeding find 10ks over it will cost you $400+ how the hell does that bone headed grub get a couple of $581 fines for all his offences and actually still be on the road .
My wifes car was at one time unregistered (unbeknown to us) due to us moving and not getting the renewal, a copper drove past her and my 3 year old at the time and you could have sworn that Ivan Milat was driving the car with Osama Bin Laden in the backseat a full 360 ,siren and lights at 100% end result was 2 year old car had to be left on the side of the road and it cost me 1k+ in fines etc to get it re registered.
And they wonder why people say the law is an ass

 

[StuBoot]

Id say his lawyer is outstanding as with a record like that he should be facing jail time as he has no consideration for societies rules ,he thinks they dont apply to him .I know every tiny road infringement I have had has been punished with the maximum force of the law.You get a speeding find 10ks over it will cost you $400+ how the hell does that bone headed grub get a couple of $581 fines for all his offences and actually still be on the road .
My wifes car was at one time unregistered (unbeknown to us) due to us moving and not getting the renewal, a copper drove past her and my 3 year old at the time and you could have sworn that Ivan Milat was driving the car with Osama Bin Laden in the backseat a full 360 ,siren and lights at 100% end result was 2 year old car had to be left on the side of the road and it cost me 1k+ in fines etc to get it re registered.
And they wonder why people say the law is an ass

Exactly, and what I don't get is that for all his other offences why wasn't the charge of driving without a licence ( a NSW one that is ) done then too.
If as they say there's thirty fines then surely each time it would pop up that he doesn't have a licence would it not?
Speeding and mobile phone use incur demerit points so if he doesn't have a licence, what gives?
Mobile phone use is 5 points so he would have lost his licence a few times over.
How can it have gotten to this point?

@Highflier, I've had a similar instance to you with an inadvertent lapse of rego and of course my wife was driving too.
The fine is not just for unregistered, it is also uninsured ( as in CTP ) which in itself is another fine - $580 each or something like that from memory.

I'm with @Mal Cochrane, I'll keep that article in case of any future misdemeanours.

 

[StuBoot]

I just looked up
Driving without a licence first offence is $890 with a maximum of $2200

So he's been fined less than the total of - driving without a licence + driving an unregistered vehicle + driving uninsured vehicle + drive with presence of drug.

He got a couple of freebies in there plus we don't know if he's allowed to drive or not, the article (conveniently) didn't say.

 

[MissKate]

So the same way the nrl treated his long list of on field indiscretions with a pathetic ‘naughty boy letter’ which acted as no deterrent, the law seems to treat him the same way. Did he drive himself away from court again with no licence in an unregistered car, I am guessing he would have

 

[40 years an eagle]

So the same way the nrl treated his long list of on field indiscretions with a pathetic ‘naughty boy letter’ which acted as no deterrent, the law seems to treat him the same way. Did he drive himself away from court again with no licence in an unregistered car, I am guessing he would have

The car's registration was apparently cancelled for non-payment of fines. He "took out his phone and paid the fines on the spot when he was pulled over"...which re-instated the registration and insurance. It is easy to get a local drivers license if he has a current British one.

Irregardless, he is scum and is treated almost like royalty.
I wonder if I conviction had been recorded against him would have resulted in his expulsion from Oz.

 

[StuBoot]

The car's registration was apparently cancelled for non-payment of fines. He "took out his phone and paid the fines on the spot when he was pulled over"...which re-instated the registration and insurance. It is easy to get a local drivers license if he has a current British one.

If it's so easy to get a local drivers licence why hasn't he bothered for 10 years?
Because he doesn't give a .....!
Taking out his phone and paying the fines on the spot - so he knew he had unpaid fines?
It's not that easy to just pay unpaid fines and get everything re-instated straightaway, it doesn't work like that - I know from experience unfortunately.

Which takes me back to "over 30 fines since 2010"
That's three a year, so even if had a valid licence it should've been suspended at some point.
13 points in a three year period is all it takes.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Which takes me back to "over 30 fines since 2010"

The record shows Burgess was pinged by mobile phone cameras five times and caught speeding twice in 2020 alone.

 

[The Who]

Id say his lawyer is outstanding as with a record like that he should be facing jail time as he has no consideration for societies rules ,he thinks they dont apply to him .

It seems the Law is just like the NRL competition . . .
the best system a money can buy.

 

[TokyoEagle]

If it's so easy to get a local drivers licence why hasn't he bothered for 10 years?
Because he doesn't give a .....!
Taking out his phone and paying the fines on the spot - so he knew he had unpaid fines?
It's not that easy to just pay unpaid fines and get everything re-instated straightaway, it doesn't work like that - I know from experience unfortunately.

Which takes me back to "over 30 fines since 2010"
That's three a year, so even if had a valid licence it should've been suspended at some point.
13 points in a three year period is all it takes.

Is that why he is still on his UK licence, unlikely to lose points? The monetary fines are chump change to him.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Is that why he is still on his UK licence, unlikely to lose points? The monetary fines are chump change to him.

He can't lose points against his UK license for offences committed here but foreign nationals are only permitted to drive on their foreign or an International License for a period of 3 months from entry.
He has been flaunting this for 10 years and should have had te whole volume thrown at him but it wasn't even a whole book.
It is utterly disgraceful.