Australian Idol star Paulini sentenced over driver’s licence fraud
Four months after she was charged for bribing a Roads and Maritime Services employee in exchange for a fake, unrestricted driver’s licence, Paulini Curuenavuli has just been handed down her sentence at Mount Druitt Local Court.
The former Australian Idol star has avoided jail over the charge of “corruptly giving a benefit for an agent” (which carries a maximum sentence of seven years behind bars). Instead she has been given a six-month suspended sentence and placed on a good behaviour bond.
In a letter to the courts, Barrister Lisa-Claire Hutchison said Paulini apologised for her actions, which saw her pay an RMS official $850 for the fake licence.
“[She] has reflected in her personal letter – on the extent to which her letting her fans down, in particular, her younger fans, has weighed upon her.”
Hutchison also noted the financial loss experienced by the Bodyguard star as a result of the negative publicity surrounding the incident.
“With increased publicity comes an increased measure of public shaming,” the lawyer explained. “She has acknowledged the utterly unacceptable nature of her behaviour ... she is deeply contrite for the actions which she perpetrated.”
Image credit: Paulini Curuenavuli/Instagram.