By Jordanna Schriever

Copyright abc

A well-known Adelaide tailor and clothing retailer has been fined for smoking outside his CBD business in contravention of council by-laws but has been spared convictions to allow him to travel overseas and “keep abreast with fashion” trends.

Joseph Uzumcu, 66, who has traded from his Gawler Place shop for 38 years, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to six counts of breaching an Adelaide City Council by-law that bans smoking in and around Rundle Mall.

The court heard one count related to a complaint from a member of the public who had seen Mr Uzumcu smoking in Gawler Place, while the other five counts were detected by CCTV or observations by council staff.

Defence lawyer Jon Lister asked the court to spare Mr Uzumcu a conviction so he could continue to attend international fashion events, because a conviction may “unduly prejudice” the tailor’s career.

Fears for fashion week dreams

“He, in the past, has travelled frequently to Europe, mostly to Italy, and to Japan for the purpose of keeping abreast with fashion developments at catwalks and fashion shows of that kind,” Mr Lister said.

“It has been a long-term wish for him to attend the fashion week in New York and to attend a shoe fair in Los Angeles.

Mr Lister said while the application process did not currently preclude Mr Uzumcu from travelling to the United States, “recent uncertainty about the manner in which executive decisions are made in the United States, under the Trump regime, has made him anxious that there may be a preclusion of him travelling if he’s convicted of these offences”.

He told the court a fine would be an adequate punishment for the breaches and said Mr Uzumcu apologised to the court and the member of the public who made the complaint.

“He’s resolved, your Honour, to be very careful not to breach this by-law again, he’ll be walking up to North Terrace for any cigarette smoking,” Mr Lister said.

A lawyer for the council told the court Mr Uzumcu ought to have known smoking was prohibited because he had been fined for five similar breaches in 2017.

“Given the defendant’s antecedent history, he ought to have known that smoking in Gawler Place as he did was prohibited and his conduct, the subject of these counts, shows disregard for the law and he should be deterred from doing so in the future,” the council’s lawyer said.

Tailor spared conviction

He said the council sought convictions for each count.

But Magistrate Natalie Browne spared Mr Uzumcu any convictions, imposed a $600 fine and ordered he pay prosecution costs of $699.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr Uzumcu told the court he would seek medical advice to give up smoking.

Outside court, he further explained that he had been smoking for more than 40 years and it was “a very unconscious” habit and it was “very, very nice” that he was not convicted.

“I am guilty as charged … I should give up, absolutely. I would not advise any of the young generation to smoke because it is very difficult to give up.”