Jeonju District Court sentences a man in his 30s to one year in prison and two years probation for failing to comply with a breathalyzer test request.

Jeonju District Court Criminal Division 6 (Chief Judge Park Seong-kyung) announced on the 27th that Mr. A (34), who was indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act, was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation and ordered him to perform 80 hours of community service.

Mr. A was indicted on charges of failing to respond to a police officer's request for a breathalyzer test on the road near an apartment in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do at 0:52 on December 15th last year.

There was a valid reason why the police officer at the time asked Mr. A to take a breathalyzer test.

Previously, a citizen reported to the police, "I parked my car, but Mr. A hit my car and just left. I thought he was drunk, so I called and told him to come."

The police officer who arrived at the scene noticed that Mr. A's face was red, his speech was slurred, and his body smelled of alcohol.

Mr. A readily admitted to the crime, saying, “I caused an accident while drinking and driving.”

Now it's time to take a breathalyzer test to check the exact blood alcohol concentration.

However, Mr. A suddenly changed his attitude and said, "I said I won't test for alcohol," and pushed away the hand of the police officer who held out the detector and tried to leave the scene. He ended up in court.

Normally, if you do not comply with a police officer's legitimate request for a breathalyzer test and leave the scene, you are subject to more severe punishment than simple drunk driving.

The court ruled, “The defendant committed drunk driving in 2018 and received a summary order of fine,” and “Although the nature of the crime was not good, the sentence was determined considering the fact that the defendant acknowledged and reflected on the crime, albeit belatedly.”