Daughter takes the rap for father's speeding offence
A daughter 'took the rap' for a speeding offence so her father could escape jail for driving while disqualified, a judge heard.
Mother of one, Satwant Gill, of Aldridge, claimed to be the driver of their VW Urban which was clocked doing 80mph by a speed camera.
But the photograph of the car clearly showed the person behind the wheel was a man, said Mr Nick Burn, prosecuting at Stafford Crown Court.
When police confronted her with the evidence, she confessed to falsifying the form requesting driver details for the speeding offence on the A38 near Burton last August.
Her, father, Shangara Singh Gill was subsequently jailed for ten weeks by magistrates at Burton for driving while disqualified.
And Satwant Gill, aged 42, of New Road, Aldridge narrowly escaped going straight to jail herself.
She was given a four month sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to to 150 hours unpaid community work and banned from driving for 12 months.
She admitted perverting the course of justice, aiding and abetting a disqualified driver and driving without insurance.
Judge Mark Eades told her: "This sort of offence which involves taking the rap for someone else so the person responsible gets away scot-free, is regarded as serious and there have been some headline cases in the press illustrating that fact.
"Your father was prosecuted and sent to be prison and he appears to be the prime mover. You felt a great deal of pressure to do what you did."
Mr Burn said Satwant knew her father was banned from the roads as he drove them to a wedding in Derby. She made the false statement to protect her father and to avoid him losing his job.
"There was an intent to mislead the authorities," he said.
Mr Richard Bannister, defending, told the court hearing that his client had shown great remorse.
And he said: "The offence had caused a great deal of problems for her and her daughter - she was the sole breadwinner for the family and would lose her job if she went to prison."
