A THIEF hit a business owner with a double whammy when he drained the fuel from multiple machines.
Because he couldn’t start a truck he was attempting to use on a building site after the robbery, a court heard that theft victim and local business owner Richard Cleary, from Oola, County Limerick, used marked gas oil to get it started and wound up being prosecuted and fined.
Custom Officer of the Revenue Commissioners, Sarah Ryan, told the District Court in Kilmallock that she was present when samples were taken from the fuel tank of a lorry belonging to the accused on a building site in Oola on March 26, 2024.
The officer told Judge Patricia Harney that the sample “changed colour”, identifying it as marked oil intended only for use in agricultural and building machinery, where it attracts a lower fuel tax levy than fuel for vehicles normally driven on the road.
The court heard that Mr Cleary, the owner of Cleary Plant Hire and Renovations Ltd, was pleading guilty to the charge of using the marked oil.
Ms Ryan agreed with Mr Cleary’s legal representative that she had been told that someone had stolen all of the fuel in multiple machines belonging to the company.
The theft left Mr Cleary at a substantial loss, the court heard.
The truck would not start and a small amount of marked oil was used to get it going, his legal representative told Judge Harney.
The theft was reported to the Gardaí, who are currently investigating, the court was told.
Judge Harney was told that the maximum fine she could impose was €5,000, but said that under the circumstances, she would fine Mr Cleary €2,500 and give him six months to pay.
