A chef who sat the driving test theory exam, pretending to be someone else, has avoided a custodial sentence at Selkirk Sheriff Court (pictured).
Chun Chung, 35, claimed he was persuaded by a migrant worker friend who had a poor grasp of English to take the exam in his place.
But the ruse was quickly uncovered and Chung, of Hogganfield, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to obtain a pass in a car theory test by fraud on January 28. He admitted inducing two staff members at the Driving Standards Agency offices in Galashiels to allow him to take the exam under the name of Qiao Hua Jiang, also 35.
Defence lawyer Colm Dempsey said: “He was a friend of a migrant worker who had come here with his family and needed a driving licence, but had failed the theory test due to his lack of English.
“At first the accused refused the request, but he eventually succumbed and agreed to do it.”
The lawyer went on: “However, it was an unsophisticated fraud which was easily detected and thwarted.
“He was just doing it to assist, rather than get financial gain. He would not have sat the actual practical test itself.”
Mr Dempsey said his client acknowledged the gravity of the offence, but said a community payback order could be imposed instead of a jail sentence.
Sheriff Peter Paterson said Chung’s actions were a “danger to the general public and could have had fatal consequences.”
He ordered Chung to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody and made a 20-month supervision order.