Taipei police yesterday detained democracy advocate Wuer Kaixi on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). He was released after questioning at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
Wuer Kaixi could face charges of offenses against public safety after he was stopped while riding a scooter and testing showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.4 milligrams per liter (mg/L), exceeding the legal limit of 0.15mg/L, Ruian Street Police Station chief Huang Chien-chang (黃建彰) said.
Officers saw a scooter being driven erratically along Heping W Road at about 1:30am, he said.
Photo: CNA
They followed it for a while before flagging down the driver, he said.
“We took him in as a DUI case, as the suspect exceeded the legal limit for alcohol,” he said.
Wuer Kaixi was with friends on Saturday night at a bar, where they drank beer, police quoted him as saying.
He decided to drive to his New Taipei City home, because he believed he was still clear-minded enough to handle the trip, they quoted him as saying.
“I admit what I did was wrong, and I cooperated with the police procedures,” Wuer Kaixi told reporters after his release.
Police confiscated his scooter as part of the DUI investigation and transferred him to the prosecutors’ office.
After questioning, prosecutors released him, as there was no accident and the suspect had admitted to wrongdoing, the office said.
Wuer Kaixi was a prominent Uighur student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing and fled China after the June 4 massacre.
Wanted by the Chinese government for his part in the protest movement, he was helped by underground networks to reach France.
He came to Taiwan in 1996.
He married a Taiwanese and has been given Republic of China citizenship.
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