The house of a motorist with multiple driving under the influence (DUI) offenses was repossessed yesterday in line with tougher actions being taken by the judiciary to deter drunk driving.
The repeat offender, surnamed Lin (林), had been issued 11 tickets within three years for allegedly driving his scooter drunk in Changhua County, officials at the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency said.
Lin had accumulated NT$900,000 in fines, but refused to pay, they said.
From 2015 to last year, Lin was pulled over numerous times for roadside breath testing after police observed erratic driving behavior, police records showed.
However, he refused to take the test every time, leading to the issuance of 11 tickets for failure to cooperate: eight NT$90,000 tickets and three NT$60,000 tickets, the records showed.
The agency’s branch in Changhua County sent Lin notices about the fines, but he did not pay them or respond to a request to declare his assets, it said.
Agency officials went to Lin’s residence to appraise his possessions, finding that he had discarded his car and scooters, but is the registered owner of a large rural house he inherited from his parents.
The agency yesterday sent officials to repossess the house, but Lin requested they refrain from doing so, citing illness and a lack of income.
Officials reportedly told him that they needed to abide by the law and continued with repossession procedures.
Meanwhile, the ministry touted its measures to prevent drunk driving, saying that within the past month, it has repossessed 67 properties in central Taiwan.
All 67 cases involved motorists who had failed to pay DUI-related fines or refused to submit for Breathalyzer testing, officials said.
For the first and second DUI offenses, a fine of up to NT$90,000 would be issued for scooters and up to NT$120,000 for cars, the ministry said.
For the third offense, NT$90,000 would be added to the fine issued for the second offense, the ministry added.
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