‘Drunk’ driver working at brewery acquitted after proving his body produces alcohol

A 40 years old in the Belgium which had been referred to its court Bruges because he was caught driving drunkrecursively, he was discharged from all of them categories after proved that he suffers from intestinal fermentation syndrome (ABS)an extremely rare disease during which the body produces alcohol.

By…unfortunate coincidence, as his lawyer, Anne Ghesquière, her client described it he works in brewery. Three doctors who examined him independently confirmed the diagnosis.

The judge noted in his ruling that the defendant, who was not named as a drug addict by Belgian courts, showed no signs of intoxication.

Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist at the AZ Sind-Lucas Hospital in Belgium, explained that people with ABS produce the same type of alcohol as that found in alcoholic beverages, but generally don’t feel the effects as much.

People are not born with this disease, but some people who already have another gastrointestinal disease develop it. Alcohol is usually produced when people consume foods high in carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes or carrots.

According to the lawyer, the scientists believe that the condition is underdiagnosed since throughout the people have been recorded to date only 20 confirmed cases.

Gasquier’s client was “caught” by police officers in April 2022 driving “drunk”, as his blood alcohol level reached 0.91mg/l. A month later, he was again arrested for having exceeded the legal limit of alcohol consumption, with 0.71mg/l.

In 2019 he was fined and had his driving license revoked for the same reasons. The same he declared always innocentthat he didn’t drink alcohol and he was unaware that he was suffering from this rare syndrome. Now, he follows a low-carb diet.