A judge in Changhua County had enough of a local politician’s repeated convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol and handed him a seven-month prison sentence in addition to a fine, as the offender had gotten away with only paying fines in two previous convictions for the same offense.
Ko Chen-pei (柯振杯), 57, is in his second term as Changhua County councilor for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). He was first elected in the local elections of 2009.
The Changhua District Court yesterday handed Ko a seven-month jail sentence and a fine of NT$60,000 (US$1,978) for his arrest on May 15, when a test showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.43mg/L, much more than the nation’s legal limit of 0.15mg/L, or 0.05 percent.
If Ko chooses to, he can still appeal the ruling.
It was Ko’s third driving under the influence conviction in four years. He was previously caught for the same offense in March 2013 and in December last year.
“Ko is a Changhua County councilor and has a duty to preside over public issues. However, he has shown disregard for road regulations and endangered public safety. Therefore the imposed prison term shall not be commuted to a fine for Ko,” the court statement said.
When contacted by reporters yesterday, Ko said he would appeal the decision “because the case happened when I was driving to get to places to serve my constituents.”
Ko also asked reporters not to report on the court verdict.
According to the court statement, Ko on May 15 drove a luxury sedan and had a minor accident on the road involving another car.
After police arrived to investigate, Ko refused to take the Breathalyzer test, even though the police officers reported he smelt of alcohol, the court said.
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