A 40 year old Belgianwho had been brought before a Bruges court for being caught driving drunk on relapsewas cleared of all charges after proving that he suffers from intestinal fermentation syndrome (ABS), an extremely rare disease in which the body produces alcohol.
In his decision, the judge pointed out that the defendant did not show any symptoms of intoxication. Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist at AZ Sind-Lucas Hospital in Belgium, explained that people with ABS they produce the same type of alcohol as that found in alcoholic beverages, but generally they don’t feel its consequences as much. People are not born with this disease, but some people who already have a 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, scientists believe that the condition is underdiagnosed since only 20 confirmed cases have been recorded worldwide to date.
Gasquière’s client was spotted by police 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 fact, in 2019 he was fined and had his driving license revoked for the same reasons.
With information from APE-MPE
