At the end of April, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer made world headlines when he announced plans to launch a full-size replica of the Titanic that will make its maiden voyage from England to New York in 2016.
Fast-forward a few weeks to today, and the Australian Mining magnate is once again in the news, but for a very different reason.
The 58-year old businessman from the sunny state of Queensland was ticketed by Australian police back in January for going 87km/h (54mph) in a 60km/h (37mph) zone in his Mercedes-Benz. The police officer issued him an AU$333 (US$329 or €258) fine and deducted four demerit points from his driving license.
But according to the Gold Coast Bulletin, Palmer has yet to pay the fine, even though it has been four months since he received the ticket and he could now face jail time!
The news site reported that while State Penalties Enforcement Registry is looking for Palmer, the mining magnate’s stuff told police that he is trying to get the fine dismissed, even though the 28 day appeal time offered in these cases has passed on.
“The fact is Mr Palmer had 28 days to appeal so he is out of luck,” a legal source told Gold Coast Bulletin.
“There are two options. The first is the fine is imposed, the second is to refer the matter to court to have the fine set aside. Mr Palmer has taken no action within the 28-day period and it would be highly unlikely that the court would reopen the matter,” the source added.