A Man in His 30s Caught Drinking and Driving Twice in One Day After Girlfriend's Report

Punished Twice for Drunk Driving in the Past

A man in his 30s with a prior record of being punished for drunk driving was prosecuted for drunk driving twice in one day and was sentenced to a suspended prison term. He was caught after being reported by his girlfriend.

News1 reported on the 4th that the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch (Criminal Division 2, Presiding Judge Park Hyunjin) sentenced 37-year-old Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving), to 2 years in prison with a 4-year suspension. The court also ordered 80 hours of community service and 40 hours of a law-abiding driving lecture.

Mr. A had previously been sentenced to fines and suspended prison terms for drunk driving in 2012 and 2016.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

On December 14 last year, at around 9:20 a.m., Mr. A drove 950 meters on a road in Dan-gye-dong, Wonju-si, while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.0415%. Then, 4 hours and 45 minutes later, at 2:05 p.m., he was charged with driving his passenger car 1.9 km under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.0711% on a nearby road in Dan-gye-dong, Wonju-si. It was revealed that Mr. A was caught for drunk driving after being reported by his girlfriend following an argument.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

The court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "He committed drunk driving twice in one day and has a history of being punished twice for similar offenses in the past. However, considering that he was caught after being reported by his girlfriend following an argument and that his blood alcohol concentration falls within the legal minimum range, the sentence was determined accordingly."

Meanwhile, the police plan to conduct continuous crackdowns during August, designated as a "special drunk driving crackdown period." Earlier, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 2nd that during the special drunk driving crackdown period started last month, a total of 754 cases were caught in one month. Among them, 304 cases involved license suspension for blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% or higher, and 450 cases involved license cancellation for 0.08% or higher. The police plan to continue special crackdowns in August by focusing on habitual occurrence areas based on past 112 emergency reports suspected of drunk driving.