By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
An appellate court upheld a lower court's ruling that a driver can rinse their mouth before performing a drunk-driving test.
The Ujeongu District Court acquitted a man who was indicted on a charge of driving drunk, Friday.
The 40-year-old, identified only as Kim, last year drove his car after drinking three glasses of beer and before police stopped him and made him perform a drink driving test.
Kim asked the policemen if he could wash his mouth with water, but they rejected his request. His blood-alcohol concentration was 0.06 percent, 0.01 percent higher than the tolerable level.
The court said in its ruling, ``Police ignored Kim's request for gargling and he violated the standard by only 0.01 percent. There was a possibility that the breathalyzer didn't work properly, so the original verdict is correct.''
In response, the prosecution is to appeal the decision.