Mangochi First Grade Magistrate court has convicted and fined a 34-year-old minibus driver for conducting business on wrong route.

The driver has been identified as Wilson Kachingwe who was fined K200, 000.00 after being found guilty for an offence of driving without licence and also operating on wrong route which contravenes sections 18 and 84(2) of the road traffic act respectively.

On Thursday, June 14 Monkey-bay police prosecutor Sub Inspector Liston Sabola told the court that  the driver was driving a Nissan vannet with registration number NU9376 from the direction of Salima heading towards Monkey-bay with just three passengers and also bags of maize.

He was stopped upon arrival at Mtakataka trading centre by traffic officers who mounted a check point.

The officers discovered that Kachingwe had no driving licence and he was conducting his business on a wrong route for commuter minibuses.

In court, Kachingwe pleaded guilty to the charges rendered against him prompting the police prosecuter to ask the court for stiff punishment to deter other drivers from such behavior.

Passing the judgment, his worship Magistrate Ronlad M’bwana agreed with the prosecutor and ordered the convict to pay a fine of K200, 000 or serve a jail term of 18 months.

Kachingwe escaped the custodial sentence by paying the fine.

He hails from Osman Village in the area of traditional authority Ganya in Ntcheu.