Arrested Again After Drinking and Driving Just One Year After Release
A man in his 50s who was sentenced to prison for drunk driving was arrested again after driving under the influence about a year after his release.
On the 11th, the Pocheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that they had sent a man in his 50s, Mr. A, to prosecution on charges including drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. Mr. A is accused of driving his SUV for about 400 meters in Idong-myeon, Pocheon-si, at around 12:20 a.m. on August 28, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.151%, which is above the level for license cancellation. A citizen who saw Mr. A’s vehicle reported to 112 that "a staggering person is driving a car," leading to his arrest. Mr. A has a history of being caught drunk driving four times before and was sentenced to one year in prison in 2022. He was released in August last year after serving his sentence.
A man in his 50s who was sentenced to prison for drunk driving was arrested again for driving under the influence about a year after his release. [Photo by Asia Economy]
Meanwhile, in Daejeon, a man in his 40s who was punished three times for drunk driving and caught a fourth time, receiving a prison sentence in the first trial and being detained, was released on probation in the appeal trial. The appellate court stated that they decided to give the driver one more chance. According to Yonhap News on the 10th, the Criminal Division 4 of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Gu Chang-mo) sentenced Mr. B, in his 40s, to one year in prison with a three-year probation period (including 40 hours of safe driving lectures) in the appeal trial for violating the Road Traffic Act (refusal to take a breathalyzer test). The appellate court accepted Mr. B’s appeal that the one-year prison sentence in the first trial was too harsh and reduced the sentence to probation.
On October 22 last year, at around 4:37 p.m., Mr. B was driving under the influence on a road in front of a building in Goejeong-dong, Seo-gu, when he crashed into a villa’s wall. The police judged that he was driving while intoxicated, as he smelled of alcohol and was staggering while walking, and requested a breathalyzer test, which Mr. B refused. He was prosecuted for this refusal. Mr. B had already been punished three times for drunk driving (two fines and one suspended prison sentence). Considering this, the first trial court sentenced him to one year in prison, and Mr. B was detained in court. However, Mr. B appealed, claiming the sentence was excessive, and the appellate court accepted the appeal, releasing him after four months of detention.
The appellate court explained the sentencing decision, saying, "Since the first trial verdict, the defendant has spent nearly four months in detention since June 20, reflecting on his wrongful behavior. It is deemed appropriate to suspend the execution of the prison sentence and give the defendant one more chance."
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