Does anyone know the law on this? A mate of mine recently got busted by cops who were hiding round the corner from a bar (seems the road-block method is becoming less effective) - pounced on him - took him to the cop shop where he refused to do the breathalizer test (exercising his right to have Foreign Affairs cops present), presumably in the hope his alcohol levels would reduce in the meantime; all the while they were warning him that above a certain level, he’d be going straight to prison for 6 months or so.
Does anyone know the de facto legal position? I thought you had to actually cause bodily harm to someone.
[quote=“planet2wheels”]Does anyone know the law on this? A mate of mine recently got busted by cops who were hiding round the corner from a bar (seems the road-block method is becoming less effective) - pounced on him - took him to the cop shop where he refused to do the breathalizer test (exercising his right to have Foreign Affairs cops present), presumably in the hope his alcohol levels would reduce in the meantime; all the while they were warning him that above a certain level, he’d be going straight to prison for 6 months or so.
Does anyone know the de facto legal position? I thought you had to actually cause bodily harm to someone.[/quote]
I don’t know the actual legal position, but to put it in perspective, my old neighbor killed someone while driving under the influence of alcohol and he only did one year in prison. He plea bargained, did one year and had to pay the victims family off (I am sure it was millions.) I doubt there would be prison time for your friend, that’s ridiculous. There could be some kind of hefty fine though. I think for getting a DUI on a scooter is around 60,000nt and you lose of your license for a year. For a car the fine goes up to around 100,000nt. It’s something like that.
I don’t think so, but there should be for that arrogance and disregard for human life. Up to 6 months where I’m from. But refusal to give a sample will probably automatically give the maximum penalty. But this is Taiwan after all.
Here’s the penalties, no mention of prison time sadly, assuming they’re up to date tbaf.org.tw/en/communication.php wouldn’t be the first time a “policeman” has lied.
Over 0.05% but under 0.11%: TWD 15,000 to 60,000 fine, and license suspension for 1 year.
0.11% and above: license suspension for 1 year, and charge of offences against public safety with possible prison sentence up to 1 year as the maximum penalty. If the driver is convicted of causing accidents, the penalty shall be increased by half.
If the driver causes serious injuries or death, the license will be suspended for life.[/quote]
As I said, refusal in most countries automatically makes it the most serious level. Maybe that’s what they meant, jail if he refuses to cooperate. Waiting for someone from the foreign affairs police to waste time is not a “right”
Well, what was the result once the FAP arrived? If he wasn’t over the limit i don’t see the problem. If he was, then I hope sincerely that he gets the book thrown at him. I DO know that the government has been touting a “zero tolerance” policy on stupid fuckwads who drive drunk. But I don’t know how effective they’ve been at enforcing it.
Your buddy sounds like he didn’t make many friends during his altercation, so that’s bound to go against him. Was he over the limit? Then I suggest saving up for a macrame-by-numbers set to help him while away the time in the big house. He deserves it.
Busted for just walking on the street drunk, or was he driving at the time. I assume it’s the latter, but nowhere do you specify. (The former would be absurd, but this is Taiwan.)
[quote=“sandman”]Well, what was the result once the FAP arrived? If he wasn’t over the limit I don’t see the problem. If he was, then I hope sincerely that he gets the book thrown at him. I do know that the government has been touting a “zero tolerance” policy on stupid fuckwads who drive drunk. But I don’t know how effective they’ve been at enforcing it.
Your buddy sounds like he didn’t make many friends during his altercation, so that’s bound to go against him. Was he over the limit? Then I suggest saving up for a macrame-by-numbers set to help him while away the time in the big house. He deserves it.[/quote]He’s going to get the maximum sentence for refusing, no matter that his result is. (I found that on one of those obviously multiple choice tests) It seems from the OP that he himself thought he might be over the limit, hence the stalling, he drove knowing full well he’s likely to be over the limit.
He’s result might have turned out to be in a lower band, with a lower sentence, but no, by trying to get out of it he actually brought the most severe sentence onto himself. What else would he expect?
[quote=“planet2wheels”]Does anyone know the law on this? A mate of mine recently got busted by cops who were hiding round the corner from a bar (seems the road-block method is becoming less effective) - pounced on him - took him to the cop shop where he refused to do the breathalizer test (exercising his right to have Foreign Affairs cops present), presumably in the hope his alcohol levels would reduce in the meantime; all the while they were warning him that above a certain level, he’d be going straight to prison for 6 months or so.
Does anyone know the de facto legal position? I thought you had to actually cause bodily harm to someone.[/quote]
What right to have the foreign affairs police there?
You bet. I was arrested and thrown in jail for drunk in public in San Diego in 1980, despite the fact that I was sound asleep inside a parked car at the time. It was after a beach party, I was just a passenger and my friend was the driver, but we were both way too drunk to drive so we just crashed out right there. The cops came, shone a flashlight in my face, woke me up, asked me some questions, made me get out of the car, cuffed me and threw me in jail. I argued that they should be happy we didn’t drive and besides we weren’t in public, we were inside a parked car. They disagreed, said it’s still public and if you want to legally get drunk you must do so at home. They also didn’t like that I was underage at the time, but they didnt’ charge me with that: they charged me with public intoxication. Of course they were bastard pigs who were likely lying and violating my legal rights, but people DO get arrested for such crime in the US. I am exhibit A.
Just to answer the various questions so far; yes he was driving; no he wasn’t over the limit (when he finally took the test), but very close. Maybe his stalling did make the difference between getting a DUI conviction. It certainly didn’t make him any friends down the cop shop :fume: .He reckons it is actually a legal right the cops have to honour that any foreigner can ask to have FA police present before any ‘charge or actions which result in a charge’ is taken. (I say he’s a friend/mate, perhaps I should qualify that and say ‘he’s someone I’m friendly towards’, although I wouldn’t count him as someone I’d to spend any quality time with… more of aquaintance… the guy has some psycho-baggage I don’t want to deal with, and DUI is just a small part of a bigger picture). I was just shocked about the immediate 6 months prison threat…
Oh, so he went to a bar, had a few drinks, walked out and got in his car, got pulled over by the cops and refused to take a breathalyzer test, and now he’s complaining about police misconduct? :loco:
Not being funny, but I’m sure there are a lot of blokes on here who are old enough to remember the days when drunk driving was illegal but almost normal/decriminalised.
My father is 60. He told me that it was absolutely normal and the done thing in the UK in the late 60s/early 70s to go on a pub crawl in a car, with one bloke driving and drinking. What I mean is, it was normal practice despite being illegal. This was in the early days of the breathalyser - perhaps you had to say a tongue twister and walk in a straight line to prove you were sober. Of course if you crashed they threw the book at you but normally nothing happened.
My dad told me of one time he was driving back from a boozer and the coppers pulled him. They asked him how long it was since his last beer, to which he replied “5 minutes”. They let him go, as they had to wait 20 minutes to do a breath test and they didn’t want to hang around.
I’m not saying I condone drunk driving, I don’t even drink these days let alone drive, but I don’t understand where the social acceptance of it changed. I suppose it was some time around 1980. I’m willing to bet that some older posters on Forumosa were regular drunk drivers in the past, and are now cussing the shit out of it.
In 40 years time is there going to be thread entitled “jail for those reckless bastards who drive fossil fuel powered cars and leave a huge carbon footprint”?
[quote=“planet2wheels”]Does anyone know the law on this? A mate of mine recently got busted by cops who were hiding round the corner from a bar (seems the road-block method is becoming less effective) - pounced on him - took him to the cop shop where he refused to do the breathalizer test (exercising his right to have Foreign Affairs cops present), presumably in the hope his alcohol levels would reduce in the meantime; all the while they were warning him that above a certain level, he’d be going straight to prison for 6 months or so.
Does anyone know the de facto legal position? I thought you had to actually cause bodily harm to someone.[/quote]
I apologize in advance if my post may sound rude. If a Taiwanese citizen were to live in France and were arrested in suspicion of drinking while driving/riding. Do you think the French policemen would grant him a “foreign affair cop” should he ask for one? Does your freind speak Mandarin in Taiwan? I certainly hope he does. it is really ignorant for foreigners to live in Taiwan and tries to exercise their foreign status. As far as going to prison for 6 months is just a threat, I do not believe it is in the law books.
