A Chinese national in his 40s who drove a city bus carrying numerous citizens while under the influence of philopon has been sentenced to prison.

Contrary to the defendant's claim that he only took the drugs on his days off, the investigation revealed that he operated the bus while the effects of the drugs were still lingering.

According to legal circles on October 14, Judge Jeong Jin-woo of Criminal Division 2 at the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced Defendant A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and the Road Traffic Act, to two years and six months in prison, a fine of 700,000 won, and ordered the completion of a 40-hour drug addiction rehabilitation program.

Judge Jeong stated, "The responsibility is heavy as it has been proven that the defendant drove a city bus while under the influence of philopon." The judge added, "The sentencing was determined by taking into account that the defendant admitted to the crime and has no prior criminal record exceeding a fine in South Korea."

Defendant A, a city bus driver affiliated with a transportation company in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, was arrested and indicted on charges including administering philopon 13 times from late May to mid-July.

His crimes came to light during a midnight drunk driving crackdown.

On July 23 at around 3:50 AM, Defendant A drove his car about 13 kilometers from Siheung to near his home in Ansan while heavily intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.102%, and fell asleep after stopping his car in the middle of the road, leading to his arrest by the police.

Subsequently, during a search of the vehicle interior, philopon inhalation paraphernalia was discovered, uncovering additional drug offenses.

Investigations revealed that Defendant A purchased philopon via social networking services and administered it inside his car near his residence.

Initially, Defendant A claimed, "I only took it on my days off, so it did not interfere with driving the bus."

However, focusing on the fact that the effects of inhaled philopon last for about 12 hours, the police cross-referenced the administration times with his work logs.

As a result, specific tracks were uncovered showing that Defendant A operated a city bus less than 7 hours after taking the drugs, while the effects were still active.

According to investigative authorities, Defendant A took philopon until around 11:30 PM on June 11, and then drove a city bus for about two hours from approximately 6:05 AM to 8:00 AM the next day, June 12.

It was also investigated that he administered drugs until 11:00 PM on July 21, and then drove a city bus from around 5:50 AM to 6:45 AM the following day, July 22.

In addition, on July 11, he directly drove his own passenger car starting around 10:12 AM, right after taking drugs.

A police official pointed out during the investigation, "While there have been cases of drug driving in private vehicles or taxis, drug driving in a city bus is a highly unusual and serious case that we have not seen before."

Experts also explained, "Drug use by public transportation workers responsible for the safety of unspecified many can impair their ability to respond to unexpected situations, potentially leading to a major disaster," adding, "Institutional supplements, such as introducing random surprise inspections in addition to regular tests, are urgently needed."

(Photo: Yonhap News)