Introduction
One [TGIF]; thank god it’s Friday; you and your friend went to have some alcoholic drink. After the drink, you are driving your friend's car and to send back to his house, and while driving under the influence of alcohol; mid way somewhere nearby Subang Jaya, there is police roadblock.
You try to remain calm to drive pass the checking. However, the police saw your red eyes ball, and ask you to come down on your vehicle and to carry out a field sobriety test. Essentially, the policeman asks you to do a breathalyser test to determine the level of soberness you are at.
Prescribed limit to drinking alcohol
You are not allowed to exceed the prescribe limit as follow:
(a) 22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath;
(b) 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood; or
(c) 67 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.
If you are intoxicated under section 45A of the Road Transport Act 1987, you may be punished with:
- jail imprisonment of 2 years; and
- a fine of not less than RM10,000 and not exceeding RM30,000
For 2nd time or subsequent conviction, you can be punished with:
- jail imprisonment of 5 years; and
- a fine of not less than RM20,000 and not exceeding RM50,000
If you are convicted for the first time for driving under the influence of alcohol under section 45A, you shall have your driving license disqualified for a period of not less than two years from the date of the conviction while the second time onwards will be disqualified from holding a driving license for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of the conviction.
Drunk driving under influence of alcohol that clashes upon other’s motor vehicle
In the case of Mahendran Suresh v PP (2022), the accused had drank 2-3 bottles of alcohol, and had clashed with a pick up truck causing the truck back tyre on the right side to be dislodged. In this case, the accident was not minor. The accused front engine was total write off. In this case, the accused was sentenced to 10 months of jail, driving license suspended for 2 years and fine for RM10,000.
What is the solution?
In the case of PP v Ong Pok Chung (2023), the accused was arrested for drunk driving under section 45A of the Road Transport Act 1987. The accused was found to have consumed 137mg of alcohol within a 100ml of blood, which was 87mg alcohol more within a 100ml blood from the prescribed limit.
What the accused did was to engage a lawyer to represent him and to plead for mitigation. The accused was given a probation of 2 years with a payment of surety of RM7,500. It is suggested that if you are caught with drunk driving, it is recommendable to ask for mitigation for the punishment given.
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