Belgium dismisses drink-driving charge against man because, wait for it... his body brews alcohol

In a very strange incident, a Belgian court dismissed a drink-driving charge against a man after they found that he was suffering from a rare metabolic condition which led to the production of alcohol in his body.

In the court, the 40-year-old man was able to prove that he was suffering from auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), in which the carbohydrates get fermented in his stomach and increase ethanol levels in his blood which finally leads to signs of intoxication.

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The unusual case was confirmed to Agence France-Presse by the man's lawyer Anse Ghesquiere after it was reported in Belgian media.

The lawyer said that as per the scientists, the number of ABS cases present in the entire world has remained underestimated. Till now, only around 20 people have been officially diagnosedwith ABS condition.

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The woman emphasised that her client, whose identity was not disclosed, provided evidence of his ABS after three doctors conducted tests on him.

The factors which led to the scenario and were unforeseen by law in the man's case were recognised by the court and he was acquitted of the charge.

How did the rare case unfold?

The man knocked on the doors of the court after his vehicle was pulled over by the police in April 2022 and a drink-driving charge was registered against him after his breathalyser reading was 0.91 milligrams of alcohol per litre, and his breath was found containing 0.71 milligrams again a month later.

In Belgium, the legal limit is 0.22 milligrams per litre of air exhaled which is similar to a blood-alcohol level remaining at 0.5 gramper litre.

In 2019, the man had again landed in trouble. He was fined and his driving licence was suspended even though he had claimed that he had not drunk any alcohol.

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Apparently,the man was not aware of his syndrome till his recent run-in with the police.

Ghesquiere stated that she and the accused man are waiting for his acquittal's formal notification. She emphasised that an appeal was to be lodged by the prosecution service a month ago if it wished to do so.

Meanwhile, the man has now switched to a carbohydrate-light diet so that his stomach is not producing more alcohol.

During his initial court appearance in March, he was requested by the prosecutor to avoid any alcoholic beverages, reported the Belgian state television channel VRT.

(With inputs from agencies)