A British businessman has avoided major punishment after being caught using a laser which acted as a "cloaking device" to dodge speed camera fines.
Ben Kitto used the NZ$500 laser fitted to his number plate to make his BMW "invisible" to police lasers.
He faced court on Tuesday (local time) where he was fined, but was spared jail because of his previous good character.
The device, which is normally and legally used as a parking sensor, can also be illegally used to scramble the beams from the mobile police lasers.
Kitto, a national sales manager for a telecoms company, bought the device in 2014 and had been using it successfully to hide his speed from police, The Sun reported.
Each time, the laser blocker lit up a warning signal and loud alarm warning Kitto police had him in their sights.
It allowed him to slow down enough to be at or under the speed limit.
But things unravelled when police became suspicious after getting error codes as Kitto drove past.
An investigation tracked down the 41-year-old's car in North Yorkshire where they found the vehicle with built-in parking sensors which meant the device could only have been used for one thing.
On one occasion, he'd slowed down to 85km/h in a 112km/h zone but police were able to work out his original speed looking at footage of his car on the A64 near York.
Prosecutor Stephanie Hancock told York Crown Court the average speed was between 130-143km/h - though at its peak was 146km/h.
Dashcam footage didn't help Kitto either, with a number of videos showing him going at excessive speeds.
His lawyer, Philip Morris, argued Kitto "genuinely believed" he wasn't committing a major offence.
"He urges anyone with one of these devices not to use it and to throw it away."
Judge Andrew Stubbs QC criticised Kitto saying "every driver on the roads of this country knows with the ability to drive and the privilege of a driving licence comes the responsibility to obey the law".
"For you it appears the speed limits were an inconvenience.
"This arrogance led you to fill your car with gadgets both legal and illegal to allow you to operate outside the law.
He ordered the device be destroyed, imposed a two month sentence suspended for a year, 110 hours' community work, and a NZ$1700 fine plus court costs.
He'll also have to pay the cost of the investigation which hadn't been calculated yet, but involved months of police work.
Newshub.
