Phnom Penh police fine over 160 drunk drivers in three-day crackdown

In only a week after Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered a crackdown on drunk driving, Phnom Penh police have netted practically 500 site visitors offenders, together with for drunk driving and driving with out helmets.

Colonel Sam Vichhika, Phnom Penh Municipal Police Spokesman, mentioned that the police had arrested and fined 161 intoxicated drivers in Phnom Penh all through the course of a three-day anti-drunk driving marketing campaign, from January 25 to Saturday.

He mentioned that drunken drivers have been fined in accordance with Sub-Decree No 39.

“Those that drive whereas intoxicated are fined on the spot or in areas the place the site visitors police caught them and carried out inspections,” Col Vichhika mentioned. “After we stopped them, we referred to as their kin to return and take them to their properties.”

Col Vichhika mentioned that motorcyclists not carrying helmets have been additionally stopped and fined.

“If police can’t contact their relations, our police will ship them to the police station and ask them to remain in a single day. And within the morning we’ll contact their relations and ask them to select up the drunk kin again to their properties,” he mentioned.

He mentioned that Nationwide Police Chief Normal Sar Thet ordered police to conduct inspection on drunk drivers following Prime Minister Hun Manet’s instruction final week.

Two excessive profile circumstances occurred in current months in Phnom Penh – one was when 4 individuals have been killed by a drunk driver and one other was a hit-and-run accident which killed a mom and son.

Col Vichhika mentioned that alcohol-level testing will likely be carried out frequently to cut back site visitors accidents attributable to drunk driving in Phnom Penh.

He added that the variety of nighttime site visitors accidents in Phnom Penh had decreased ever for the reason that Phnom Penh Municipal Police started the marketing campaign to tighten site visitors legislation enforcement and alcohol management in Phnom Penh from January 25 to Saturday night time.

Col Vichhika mentioned that in response to the legislation, a drunk motorcyclist who’s discovered to have 0.25 to 0.39 millilitres of alcohol per litre within the bloodstream, will likely be fined from 250,000 Riel (about $60), the motive force of a automobile will likely be fined 400,000 Riel (about $100) and a truck driver will likely be fined 800,000 Riel (about $200).

He added {that a} drunk motorcyclist who’s caught with 0.40 millilitres of alcohol will likely be fined 1 million Riel (about $250), a drunk automobile driver 2 million Riel (about $500) and a truck driver 4 million Riel (about $1,000).

Kim Panha, director of the Asian Harm Prevention Foundations, hailed the police’s marketing campaign of alcohol management and site visitors legislation enforcement, saying that it is a wonderful strategy to forestall and reduce site visitors accidents on roads at night time.

Panha urged site visitors police to maintain up their frequent, day-and-night enforcement of alcohol management and site visitors legal guidelines throughout the nation.

Nevertheless, he famous that the quantity of positive shouldn’t be hefty in comparison with different nations within the area.

“I completely agree and assist site visitors police’s onerous work and the fining of drunken drivers,” Panha mentioned.

“Nevertheless, in my view, the fines should be greater in order that people caught driving underneath the affect will reform,” he mentioned.

The Ministry of Justice additionally deliberate to amend the Code of Felony Process to offer for the freezing of belongings of hit-and-run offenders after the spate of site visitors accidents that trigger deaths and accidents throughout the nation has grow to be alarmingly excessive.

Minister of Justice Keut Rith final week urged the judges, prosecutors and judicial officers to expedite the continuing of site visitors accidents in order that the kin of hit-and-run victims don’t expertise injustice resulting from a protracted court docket proceedings.

“I’ll have the Code of Felony Process amended. It’s to use civil proceedings to confiscate property briefly. We can’t wait. If we do, the victims undergo double dilemmas,” Rith mentioned.

Rith mentioned that the legislation should be strictly enforced towards those that drive and hit the victims, inflicting loss of life and refuse to be liable for the deadly accidents.

The Ministry of Inside can also be learning the opportunity of making a database or blacklist to report those that drive whereas intoxicated and trigger site visitors accidents leading to accidents or deaths.

The plan to create a blacklist of drunk drivers was confirmed by Minister of Inside Sar Sokha, chairman of the Nationwide Street Security Committee, on his official Fb web page on January 24 as site visitors accidents in Cambodia have surged lately with the general public and specialists blaming the rise on alcohol promoting.