AN IRAQI refugee has been reminded by a Toowoomba magistrate about the drink-driving laws of Queensland.

Police alerted to a drink-driver about to drive away from a Ruthven St car park about 12.50am on  Saturday, October 5, approached the driver Sameer Ghanim Milhim Al-Samoque.

The 32-year-old told police he had been drinking at The Irish Club but didn't know how many beers he had drunk, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

He said he had gone home in a taxi to get money for his friend but admitted he had driven back to give her the money.
He blew a breath/alcohol reading of 0.15, police prosecutor Eddie Fraser told the court.

Through an interpreter, Al-Samoque pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while under the influence of liquor.

His solicitor Phil Stainton said his client had escaped the conflict in Iraq and spent four difficult years in a Turkish refugee camp before coming to Australia on a refugee visa 12 months ago.

His client was studying English at TAFE and looking for work, he said.

His client realised he shouldn't have been driving that night, Mr Stainton said.

Magistrate Robbie Davies told the defendant he "must be careful to respect the traffic law".

"Driving at three times the legal limit is very dangerous and you could easily have killed or seriously injured someone," he said.

Taking into account he had already been without his driver's licence for two months, Mr Davies fined Al-Samoque $300 and disqualified him from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for six months.