A Chinese national in his 40s who drove a city bus while under the influence of methamphetamine has been arrested and will be referred to prosecutors, the Ansan Danwon Police Station announced Thursday. Police plan to send the man — a city bus driver — to prosecutors on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and the Road Traffic Act for drug-impaired driving and drunk driving, while keeping him in detention.
The suspect, identified only as A, is accused of purchasing methamphetamine about 10 times through social media from late May through recently and using the drug inside his car near his home. He is also suspected of operating a city bus while at risk of being unable to drive normally due to the drug's effects. Earlier, on July 23, A had been drinking in Siheung before driving roughly 13 kilometers to his home in Ansan, where he stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road and fell asleep — where police caught him.
During a search of his vehicle, police found methamphetamine paraphernalia known as a "free base" pipe and, after questioning, A admitted to buying and using the drug. A field drug test came back positive for methamphetamine. In follow-up investigation conducted while A remained in detention, police also established the drug-impaired driving charges. Noting that methamphetamine inhaled via a free base pipe can affect a user for up to 12 hours, police reviewed recent court precedents and limited the drug-driving charges to instances where the gap between use and driving was approximately six hours or less.
Under the Road Traffic Act, driving while at risk of being unable to operate a vehicle normally due to drug influence carries a prison term of up to five years or a fine of up to 20 million won — a stiffer penalty than the punishment for drunk driving at license-revocation levels (blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent to under 0.2 percent), which carries one to two years in prison or a fine of 5 million won ($3,450) to 10 million won.
"While reviewing case law to determine applicable charges, we found examples of drug-impaired driving involving private cars, trucks, charter buses and taxis — but not a single city bus case. This is quite an unusual incident," a police official said. "We will refer only those instances of drug use and bus operation that are clearly established and supported by evidence as drug-impaired driving charges."
kty@heraldcorp.com
