Mr Bresland had been driving from a meeting on February 13 when he was approached by a window washer at traffic lights at the intersection of Roberts Road and Thomas Street in Subiaco. A police officer on a motorbike behind the banker followed him and pulled him over. "His lights came on so I thought I might have had a light out or something," Mr Bresland said. "Then he's asked me if I gave the guy some money back there, and I said yes, and he said are you aware that's illegal, and I said no. "He just came up and started washing my windows and I thought I'd just give him some money because he'd done it – I didn't ask him to."

Mr Bresland said the police officer couldn't find the right code to issue a fine on-the-spot, and said he would send it in the mail instead. "I asked him, given the fact I didn't ask the window washer to come over, and I didn't know it was illegal, could he just caution me, and he said he could but he chose not to," he said. "He told me I could plead not guilty in court, and I said that was a waste of my time and his, and then he told me he was a public servant and gets paid hourly." The father-of-three received the $50 fine in the mail a month later for the offence of 'buying a newspaper from a person', and has entered a not guilty plea in the Perth Magistrates Court, planning to fight the charge.

Under the Road Traffic Code, it is against the law for a driver, or passenger, in a car to "buy or offer to buy an article or service from a person who is on a carriageway". But State Traffic Inspector Vic Hussey told Gareth Parker on Radio 6PR's Mornings program on Friday the charge had been withdrawn. Inspector Hussey said the officer who issued the infringement had been spoken to about the incident and it was widely agreed the $50 fine was heavy-handed.

He said there were “a lot of issues and a lot of problems” with people washing windows at traffic lights and the charge aimed to address that – and could also be laid against those who harassed drivers to wash their windows. Inspector Hussey said the charge’s origins stemmed from the days when newspapers would be sold to cars along Beaufort Street, but more broadly related to a “service” being offered to drivers. “The officer was trying to address an issue and all of us have examined it ... sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t,” he said. “The reality is it is an offence.” Police made attempts to contact Mr Bresland before the matter went to court, Inspector Hussey said, and confirmed the charge had been withdrawn.

The offence is so rare, prominent Perth lawyer John Hammond has never heard of it being issued. "Firstly, congratulations to the police for finding a law that most lawyers would never have heard of," he said. "Secondly, this would have been better dealt with by a warning rather than a charge where the infringement notice penalty is $50. "[The law] is an attempt by WA Police to stop young kids washing the windows of cars. "Should it be outlawed? Yes, but not by punishing the driver of the vehicle, who is often under pressure to accept the service or the service commences without any request."