The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a man who was fined NT$90,000 for locking himself inside his car in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid a Breathalyzer test.
The man, surnamed Liu (劉), is not required to pay the fine issued by the Taipei Traffic Adjudication Office, the court said.
The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
Photo: Wu Cheng-fong, Taipei Times
In its ruling, the court said that Liu was on Oct. 19 last year driving along Section 4 of Taipei’s Civic Boulevard when he illegally parked his car by the roadside after seeing that police were conducting Breathalyzer tests.
Police officers asked Liu to alight from his car and take the test, but he refused and instead locked his doors, it said.
The police reported the incident to the office, accusing Liu of obstruction of police duties by refusing to cooperate with Breathalyzer testing, it added.
The office handed Liu the NT$90,000 fine, revoked his driver’s license, prohibited him from taking the driver’s license test for three years and ordered him to attend traffic safety sessions, the court said.
Liu contested the punishment, with an appellate court ruling that police should not treat all individuals who refuse to “submit to police authority” as driving under the influence.
The office appealed that verdict.
The High Administrative Court said in a statement that the due process of law for Breathalyzer tests should yield to people’s constitutionally guaranteed rights.
People are under no obligation to submit to Breathalyzer tests “without cause,” therefore the public may refuse Breathalyzer tests that are illegally administered, the court said.
While Breathalyzer tests are conducted to maintain road safety, they should not cross the line and infringe upon people’s rights and liberties, it added.
A person may only be accused of “refusing to cooperate with a Breathalyzer test” if the test is conducted in accordance with the due process of law, the court said.
Police questioning Liu after he parked his car stepped over that line, the court said, adding that there was no legal basis to suspect that Liu was driving under the influence, as his conduct before parking exhibited no signs that might be a danger to others, such as zigzagging or driving at abnormal speeds.
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