Award-winning journalist Janet McIntyre has been charged with driving while more than four times the legal blood alcohol limit.
The former TVNZ reporter was silent while her lawyer Marie Dyhrberg QC denied the charges on her behalf in the Auckland District Court.
The alleged incident took place on February 28, 2020 in Auckland, on New Zealand‘s North Island, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Court documents alleged McIntyre blew 1012 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.
Award winning journalist Janet McIntyre has been accused of driving more than four times the legal blood alcohol limit
In New Zealand the legal limit for people older than 20 is 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.
People found guilty of having more than 400 micrograms of alcohol in their system face a penalty of three months in prison or a fine of NZD$4,500.
Anything between 251 and 399 micrograms and the punishment is far less severe.
It include demerit points being taken away and an infringement fee is issued however no criminal conviction is recorded.
The 58-year-old was released on bail.
McIntyre won the 2019 Voyager Broadcast Journalist of the Year award.
She recently left TVNZ after working on 60 Minutes when it was purchased from TV3.
The program was then rebranded into another current affairs program.
The former TVNZ reporter (pictured in 2008) was silent while her lawyer Marie Dyhrberg QC denied the charges on her behalf
McIntyre was twice named the nation’s top television journalist while working on the show.
She moved to Auckland from Brisbane, where she studied and worked in the Channel Nine newsroom.
Her case will return to court again in August.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted McIntyre’s legal team for comment.
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