The number of deaths caused by drunk driving fell to its lowest level since such fatalities began to be recorded in 1987, the Ministry of the Interior said earlier this week.
The number of drunk-driving deaths fell by 16 percent, year-on-year, to 142 last year, ministry data showed. The previous low was 143 deaths in 1993.
The figure was a significant decrease from 2006, when a record high of 727 people were killed in alcohol-related traffic incident, the ministry said.
Officials attributed the decline to intensified enforcement measures taken by police.
Police cited 107,372 people for drunk-driving violations last year, officials said.
Drunk-driving deaths have been declining since 2013, when heavier penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol went into effect.
Motorists are subject to prosecution for endangering public safety if caught with a breath alcohol reading of 0.25mg per liter or more, compared with 0.55mg per liter under the old law.
If drivers are caught with a breath alcohol content of 0.15mg per liter or more, they are fined. Under the old law drivers were only fined if their breath alcohol content reached at least 0.25mg per liter.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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