A judge has reserved his decision in the case of a Masterton surgeon who claimed alcohol handwash pushed him over the legal driving limit.
Ian Murray Denholm, 53, gave evidence in Masterton District Court that he had used alcohol handwash on his arms and forearms up to 31 times on July 7, 2007, before drinking one or at most two glasses of wine that evening.
He was stopped by police and breath-tested and returned a postive breath test reading 593mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 400mcg.
Denholm conducted an experiment using the handwash and having himself blood-tested, which he used as evidence in his defence.
Expert prosecution witness Dr Allan Stowell, an ESR scientist, said when he tested the handwash himself "the alcohol evaporated rapidly leaving a strong smell of alcohol in the air."
Dr Stowell estimated only 20 percent of the alcohol would have been absorbed by Denholm's skin, and he would expect the alcohol would have been "completely removed from his body by the normal actions of enzymes in the liver".
Denholm's lawyer, Noel Sainsbury, and Dr Stowell debated most of the day on the question of how much alcohol would have been absorbed by Denholm's skin, which was affected by eczema, and whether that could put him over the legal limit.
Judge Stephen Harrop reserved his decision and adjourned the case until November 3.
