A Canberra man who ran nude and drunk through a busy intersection has been fined $800.
Seyed Ali Talebi Akram appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court via telephone on Thursday.
He pleaded guilty to one count of offensive behaviour in a public place, and one count of obstructing the path of a driver. Prosecutors withdrew a third charge against him of indecent exposure.
Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter said Talebi Akram came to Australia by boat eight years ago and was granted a temporary visa.
She said that after the visa expired, authorities did not renew it, so Talebi Akram "disappeared into the ether" out of fear of getting caught.
Police did track down Talebi Akram, though, after they received reports he was "running in front of traffic with no shirt on" at the intersection of Barton Highway and Gundaroo Drive in Gungahlin on January 15.
Talebi Akram's lawyer Jan de Bruin said his client had been on the road intoxicated and travelling from one "couchsurfing" residence to another. He said Talebi Akram panicked when he saw a police car and tried to remove his documents from his pants.
When officers chased Talebi Akram, his pants fell down, and he was left naked on the road before police restrained him.
"He was [then] reunited with his trackpants that had fallen off," Ms Hunter said.
"He was clearly putting himself and others at risk."
The magistrate said Talebi Akram had been detained in Villawood Immigration Detention Centre since his arrest, and it was difficult to know what to do with him given he could not pay a large fine or abide by a good behaviour order if he were eventually deported.
Ms Hunter settled on fining Talebi Akram. He has 12 months to pay $800.
