STATE OF TASMANIA v ZOE LOUISE HAIDAR 17 AUGUST 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant in this matter is Zoe Louise Haidar, born on 3 September 1996, and the complainant is Daniel Jacob Lovell, born on 22 April 1981. The parties were, prior to the events of 19 January 2022, in a significant relationship. Following a verbal argument on that day, and in circumstances where one might think that the defendant was herself the subject of domestic violence, she drove her Mazda 3 motor vehicle towards the complainant, striking him and causing him to bounce over the bonnet of the vehicle before falling on the ground. I am told that he suffered no injuries.
I am told that the defendant has no prior convictions that relate in any way to this matter. She has not spent any time in custody. In all of the circumstances, it is my view that a minimum penalty ought to be imposed. I convict the defendant of one count of assault, contrary to the Criminal Code, and of one count of producing an oral fluid test which produced a positive result for methylamphetamine, amphetamine and THC; and one count of being a driver involved in a crash and failing to stop contrary to s 33(2) of the Traffic Act 1925. Although, I add that charge sounds somewhat inept in the circumstances, it is nonetheless something on which it is appropriate to record a conviction. In all of those circumstances, having convicted the defendant, I fine her the sum of $1,000 and disqualify her from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for a period of six months. That is a single sentence across all three convictions.