Arno Carstens in court again

Musician Arno Carstens is expected back in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Wednesday on a charge of drunk driving.

 

He was arrested nearly three years ago for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

 

At his last appearance, his lawyer Milton de la Harpe claimed the blood testing kit procedures taught to nurse Sheila Newman did not match those written in a pamphlet that accompanied the box.

 

Newman attended to Carstens after his arrest in central Cape Town in December 2010.

 

De la Harpe said the pamphlet recommended that a non-alcoholic antiseptic be used when cleaning the site where the needle would enter the skin.

 

Newman had testified that she dabbed her patients' arms with cotton wool dipped in clean water, which was taken from a tap and stored in a bottle.

 

She testified that she did not specifically recall Carstens because she took samples from around 65 people on every 6pm to 6am shift.

 

Carstens has pleaded not guilty to a charge of drunk driving, alternatively driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent.

 

The legal limit is 0.05 percent.

 

-Sapa