Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office Fight against Drunk Driving on the Strict Side. Two Drunk Drivers Caused Deaths Were Detained.

Two cases of drunk driving deaths occurred in Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office’s jurisdiction in the past two weeks. After the prosecutor and coroner completed the examination procedures, the prosecutor applied detention of the accuseds to the court, and were approved to detantion in both cases. The relevant cases were explained as follows:

1. Surnamed Xiao (Born in 1998) was convicted of drunk driving in 2018 and 2019, but he still consumed alcohol with friends at a KTV in Xinxing District on November 4, 2021. After the party, he drove through No. 43, Jianguo 2nd Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City, and fell asleep while driving. The car struck surnamed Liao as he rode a scooter while waiting for the traffic light. Liao suffered head trauma, intracranial hemorrhaging, atresia fracture of the right femur, multiple bruises on the face, left shoulder, extremities, and being sent to the hospital for treatment. At 3 p.m. on the same day, he succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead at the hospital. Officers then submitted Xiao to a breathalyzer test and found that his breath-alcohol level was 0.7 milligrams per liter, exceeding the legitimate 0.25mg/L maximum limit. The Prosecutor Zhang, Yi-Cong command the Kaohsiung city police department Sanmin Branch to do the investigation immediately. After interrogation, the prosecutor deemed that Xiao were in breach of article 185-3, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code. Moreover, Xiao had several wanted records before, so there were facts sufficient to justify an apprehension that he may abscond and destroy, forge, or alter evidence. Accordingly, the prosecutor applied detention of Xiou to the court, and it was approved.
2. Surnamed Huang (Born in 2001) drove on the road with his friend after drinking at a shrimp fishing place in Linyuan District, Kaohsiung City on November 13, 2010. Besides, he was driving without a license, speeding, and running red lights. As he drove through the intersection of Section 3, Guangming Road and Zhengou Road, Daliao District, Kaohsiung City at a speed of nearly 100 kilometers per hour and ran a red light, he had a car accident with surnamed Chen riding a scooter with his wife surnamed Lee. Chen and Lee were being sent to the hospital for treatment, and Chen died from injuries such as multiple trauma, traumatic shock at 6 a.m.; Lee died due to multiple traumas to the head and intracranial hemorrhage a 7 a.m. on the same day. Officers then submitted Huang to a breathalyzer test and found that his breath-alcohol level was 0.41 milligrams per liter, exceeding the 0.25mg/L maximum limit. The Prosecutor Chen, Wei-Cheng command the Kaohsiung city police department Linyuan Branch to investigate this case. According to the investigation, the prosecutor deemed that Huang were in breach of article 185-3, paragraph 2 and article 185 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. Because Huang beat around the bush while interrogating, the prosecutor applied detention of Huang to the court, and it was also approved.

Although the government disseminate about no drunk driving and revised article 185-3, there have been frequent drunk driving incidents in recent years. Drunk driving often causes serious casualties and property losses, resulting in broken families and exorbitant social costs. Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office adopts a zero-tolerance policy toward drunk driving, and will continue to crack down on drunk driving to maintain the road traffic safety of the public.