admitting he had drunk more than the legal limit was yesterday slammed by a road safety watchdog.

Road Safety Council chairman George Morton warned soft sentences for serious offences sent the wrong message to the community.

And privately, Police officers are fuming at the light penalty handed down by Senior Magistrate Will Francis.

Mr. Morton said: `I was shocked -- it's basically a waste of time trying to push an anti-drink driving message.

"People will either think they won't be caught or if they are, they will be given a slap on the wrist and allowed to keep the privileges of being on the road.'' A Police spokesman said yesterday it was not force policy to comment on court judgements or individual cases.

But one officer said: "It's totally dispiriting -- there's no point in catching them if they're virtually let off.'' They were speaking after Jessie DeCouto, son of UBP MP Ann Carwright DeCouto, was allowed to keep driving motorcycles and cars after being caught driving with 138 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millitres of blood. The legal limit is 80/100.

At Magistrates Court on Thursday, DeCouto futher admitted driving an unlicenced and uninsured auxilliary motorcycle without a helmet.

He was banned from driving auxiliary cycles only for 18 months and fined a total of $430.

Mr. Francis allowed the defendant, a sailing instructor, to keep on driving after the teenager said he had to run errands on his job.

A search of Royal Gazette files revealed that similar offences in the past have attracted a blanket ban of 12 months.

Almost a year ago, the same Magistrate ignored a plea for leniency from a computer technician stopped with 165 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

The defendant produced a letter from his boss and said he needed his licence because his job involved visiting different companies to repair computers.

But Mr. Francis told the 27-year-old: "Impaired driving is one of the greatest causes of injury and death.'' And he fined him $450 and banned him from driving for a year.

Mr. Morton said: "It would appear this individual -- regardless of who he is -- has not been dealt with in the appropriate manner.

"Until we go the next step and really penalise people who break the law, there are inevitably people who will do the same.'' Mr. Morton admitted the public could see DeCouto's sentence as preferential treatment because his mother is a pillar of the legal establishment and an MP.

But he said: "Based on cases we have all read in the paper, it would seem that the court has left itself open to criticism from the public -- and they have a right to do that.'' Mr. Morton added: "It's not just one offence or two offences we are talking about here -- it's just like discipline as you go through any system.

"You know the consequences of wrong behaviour and you know from the get-go what the penalties are. You don't expect to be pardoned or have exceptions made.'' It is understood the Chief Justice only recently gave Magistrates discretion to ban drivers from specific vehicles.

Exceptions have been made in recent months -- in June an Airport firefighter was allowed to keep his truck licence after admitting hitting a telephone pole while impaired, but was fined $800 and banned from driving private cars for 18 months.

In the same month, a bus driver was fined $1,000 and disqualifed for driving private cars after admitting driving while impaired. Both men had higher blood alcohol levels than DeCouto.

Sentencing slammed Arrests for drink driving rocketed by 72 percent in the first three months of this year.

There were a total of 91 motorists caught drinking and driving between January and March compared to 53 over the same period in 1995.

The increase was labelled "considerable'' by Police, who launched a crackdown on the problem.

Neither Mr. Francis nor anyone from the Attorney General's chambers could be reached for comment yesterday.