Pitch invader fined 8,000 dollars

17 Feb, 2010

A spectator who ran onto a cricket pitch and wrestled Pakistan's Khalid Latif to the floor during a one-day international in Australia was Tuesday fined 9,000 dollars (8,058 US). Perth resident David James Fraser, 37, pleaded guilty to one charge of trespassing onto the WACA ground and one of common assault, and was fined 6,000 dollars and 3,000 dollars respectively, reports said.
Latif slightly injured his neck when he was grabbed from behind in the January 31 incident, which prompted calls for stiffer penalties for field invaders. Perth Magistrates Court heard that Fraser was affected by alcohol at the time of the incident and had been dared to run onto the ground by a friend. But Magistrate Giuseppe Cicchini said Latif was vulnerable as he "was not expecting anyone to come over the fence and tackle him".

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