Police DUI nets 6-month suspension, ¥300,000 fine

Okinawa Prefectural Police issued a disciplinary action on Apr. 25th against a 39-year-old police sergeant in Miyakojima City, Miyako Island, who was found to have driven his car while under influence on Mar. 20.

The sergeant was slapped with a six-month suspension from his job. He was also fined ¥300,00 by Hirara Summary Court on the same day. The police sergeant resigned from the police force on the same day.

According to Okinawa Prefectural Police Inspection Department, the police sergeant drove his car while under influence on the city road in front of Miyakojima Police Station in the Hirara Nishizato district in Miyakojima City at 9:08 a.m. on March 20.

The sergeant had drunk about 10 drinks, including canned chu-hi, whisky, and beer, at a farewell party with 5 colleagues in a police officers’ dormitory in the city from 6 to 9 p.m. on March 19.

Next day, when the sergeant drove to the police station for duty, a colleague noticed his face was swollen and he smelled of alcohol. He was administered a breathalyzer test at the police station that showed 1.5 times the legal limit of alcohol in his breath.

According to the inspection department, the sergeant said, “I had a feeling my body is heavy.”

Hidetoshi Taira, the administrative inspector general of Okinawa Prefectural Police, said, “It is lamentable that a police officer who is in the position of control caused this kind of case. We apologize to Okinawa residents.”