A video has been circulating on social media showing a car driving on a pavement in front of the Akorda. The court subsequently sentenced the driver to an administrative arrest of 10 days.
WHAT THE COURT ESTABLISHED
The case was considered by the Specialised Inter-district Administrative Offences Court of Astana under Part 1 of Article 434 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Petty hooliganism").
The court established that at night, Citizen B., while driving a car on the territory of the President's Park in Astana, travelled along a pavement intended for pedestrians. These actions constituted a flagrant violation of public order, posed a threat to the life and health of citizens, and showed clear disrespect towards others.
Later, a video recording of the incident was published on social media and became available to an unlimited number of users.
WHAT THE OFFENDER STATED
During the court hearing, Citizen B. fully admitted his guilt. He explained that he drove onto the pavement unintentionally because he was unaware of the prohibition on driving on it.
The man also stated that a friend of his was filming his actions using a mobile phone.
WHAT ADDITIONAL VIOLATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED
Citizen B. was additionally charged under Part 2 of Article 612 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan for driving a vehicle without documents and without a driving licence.
When imposing the penalty, the court took into account the deliberate and flagrant nature of the offence, the public dissemination of the video recording via social media, information about the offender's character, as well as the fact that at the time of the offence he did not have a driving licence and had previously been repeatedly held administratively liable.
WHAT DECISION THE COURT MADE
The court concluded that it was necessary to impose an administrative penalty in the form of an administrative arrest for a period of 10 days. No circumstances, as provided for in Part 2 of Article 50 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which would preclude the application of this type of punishment, were established.
The court's decision has not yet entered into legal force.