2017.04.04
DUI rap dropped against man pushing motorcycle
The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office dropped DUI charges against a man in his 40’s living in Naha City, who was arrested by Okinawa Prefectural Police in October last year, on the basis of insufficient proof.
According to the man’s lawyer, a police patrol arrested the man when he was pushing his motorcycle on a road without starting the engine. The man had parked the motorcycle on his friend’s parking space, before going to drink at a pub.
He took a taxi from the pub to the parking spot, and then started moving the motorcycle by pushing it without starting the engine towards his house 150 meters away from the parking.
On the way he tumbled because he was drunk, and a police patrol came, administered a breathalyzer test and arrested him on suspicion of DUI. The test showed over 8 times the legal limit of alcohol in his breath.
The man denied the drunk driving charge from the beginning of his arrest. Police sent his case to the Prosecutors Office after questioning and detaining him for eight days.
The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office decided to take the case to a trial, stating, “There was not enough evidence that a crime had been committed.”