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Getting out of fine mess By FIONA HUDSON 07aug03 HOMELESS alcoholic John B racked up about $10,000 in unpaid fines over two years for boozing on the banks of the Yarra with his mates. The former plumber admits to drinking in public, but says he was just having a beer in his "lounge room". "I fell in love with the bottle and I was living on the streets," he said. "I wasn't drunk and disorderly, I was just holding a can." Unable to afford a meal or a bed, the fines kept mounting. "I didn't have any money to pay and the fines kept piling up over two years. They were losing money chasing me. I just couldn't pay," he said. "What's the point of just writing fine after fine? "There must be some better way to get people off the street." John said his fines were finally dismissed this year by a magistrate who took his special circumstances into account. "I've seen a case worker and I'm selling the Big Issue and I've got a commission house and things are getting better," he said. "I'm seeing my sons and going to the footy on the weekend and things are turning around."
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