He was the fodder for more than a few workplace water cooler conversations during his stint on Channel Seven’s controversial reality program Seven Year Switch, and it appears Horsley plumber Michael Van Nimwegen isn’t ready to give up being the centre of attention just yet.
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The father-of-two, who appeared in the show earlier this year alongside his partner, Felicity Ludlow, put on an animated performance in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday as he attempted to explain to Magistrate Michael Stoddart why he was caught driving an unregistered and uninsured car, without a valid licence, on Cliff Road on June 3.
The display, which caused even the firmest of court staff to crack a smile, included the quick-talking Van Nimwegen blaming the police officer who pulled him over for not initially telling him his licence was out of date.
“He saw me and thought I was a piece of poo, with all my tattooes...he wouldn’t listen to what I had to say,” he said.
However, police documents tendered to the court claim it was Van Nimwegen who failed to attitude test that day, with the officer describing his demeanor as “highly aggressive” during the interaction and stood in front of the police car at one stage.
Van Nimwegen told the court the vehicle was now registered and that he’d been on his way to the garage for a registration check when he was stopped.
Magistrate Stoddart found the unregistered and uninsured charges against Van Nimwegen had been proven but declined to penalise him with a conviction.
He imposed a nominal $50 fine for the licence offence after Van Nimwegen admitted it was a “genuine and honest” mistake.