A Keelung man was cited for driving a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol (DUI) for 16th time, setting a new national record, and a motorcyclist in Pingtung was bailed for the sixth time on the same charge.
The Keelung case involved a 51-year-old motorcyclist surnamed Chou (周), who was stopped by police on Wednesday.
Keelung City Second Police Precinct officer Hu Kai-wen (胡凱文) said records show it was the 16th time that Chou was stopped on suspicion of DUI while driving a motorcycle, a nationwide record, and that Chou has served time for some of the previous offenses.
Chou was stopped because he was driving on the wrong side of the road, Hu said.
“After we stopped him, we tested him, as he smelled of alcohol,” the officer said, adding that the result of Chou’s Breathalyzer test was 0.91 milligrams per liter (mg/L), well above the legal limit of 0.15mg/L.
Chou, who earns a living doing odd jobs at factories or painting walls and repairs, said it was his habit “to have few drinks while at work or after we finish for the day.”
“My coworkers and I were drinking Paolyta-B at a factory for about two hours in the afternoon,” Chou was quoted by the Chinese-language Apple Daily.
The herbal tonics Paolyta-B and Whisbih, which contain traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, are popular with blue-collar workers, who use them as stimulants to boost energy and relieve fatigue, but they have an alcohol content of 8 to 10 percent, twice that of most beers. They are often mixed with rice wine, other alcoholic drinks or sodas.
Asked by police about his DUI priors, Chou said he knew it was wrong to drive his motorcycle after consuming alcohol, but he could not cure his addiction to alcohol.
After questioning Chou, police transferred him to the prosecutors’ office to press charges on offenses against public safety, Hu said.
In Pingtung, a 54-year-old motorcyclist surnamed Lin (林) was pulled over on Thursday and his Breathalyzer test result was 0.25mg/L.
After being charged, Lin was released on NT$5,000 bail.
Lin has been convicted on DUI charges five times, and had paid a total of NT$450,000 in fines and served a five-month prison term, a Pingtung police officer said.
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