Man in 30s Who Blamed Acquaintance for Drunk Driving Caught by CCTV Clothing Color

A man in his 30s who refused a police breathalyzer test on suspicion of drunk driving and insisted, "I was not driving," has ultimately been sentenced to prison and taken into custody in court.

Chuncheon District Court Judge Jeong Jong-gun, presiding over Criminal Single Division 1, announced on the 29th that he sentenced A, 35, who was indicted on charges of refusing a breathalyzer test under the Road Traffic Act and driving without a license, to one year in prison.

According to the indictment, A was asked to take a breathalyzer test by a police officer in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Hongcheon-gun at 3:34 a.m. on October 11 of last year, but refused, saying, "Call a lawyer."

Investigations revealed that A was driving a passenger car without a driver's license.

During the trial, A's legal representative denied all charges, claiming, "An acquaintance was driving, not me."

The court determined that A was the driver based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing that the person who got out of the driver's side of the vehicle was wearing light-colored pants, and at the time of the arrest, only A was wearing light-colored pants while all four companions were wearing dark-colored pants.

In addition, the court based its guilty verdict on the fact that the defendant pointed to an acquaintance, B, as the driver during the investigation, but B denied it, and during the trial, another acquaintance, C, testified, "I was driving," showing conflicting statements between the defendant and his group.

The court stated, "The crime is grave in that by refusing without justifiable cause to comply with a police officer's demand for a breathalyzer test, he made it difficult to prove drunk driving, which carries significant social risks, and fostered a trend of looking down on public authority," sentencing him to prison and taking him into custody on the spot.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.