A man driving in eastern China baffled authorities after failing an on-the-spot breathalyzer test for a reason very distant from alcohol.
Police in Rudong county, Jiangsu province pulled the man identified as Jiang over on April 17, believing that he had been drunk-driving.
They then subjected the man to a breathalyzer test, which he failed at 34 milligrams per 100 milliliters, according to Sohu News.
“I did not drink alcohol. The shell of the durian I just ate is still here,” Jiang said. “You can take me for a blood test.”
A follow-up blood test confirmed the absence of alcohol in his system.
Perplexed, police decided to carry out tests themselves in the following days and discovered that the stinky fruit can actually yield a false positive result.
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On April 29, police officer Yu Pengxiang underwent a breathalyzer test after eating some durian, according to Pear Video.
To everyone’s surprise, he tested positive at 36 milligrams per 100 milliliters, an amount above China’s legal limit of alcohol blood concentration of 20 milligrams per 100 milliliters.
Interestingly, a retest taken three minutes later showed a negative result, warranting further studies on the matter.
Jiang’s interrogation drew protests on Weibo, with some netizens calling for an apology from the police and better technology for breathalyzer tests.
“The error is definitely in the instrument.”
“I just had durian last night, but I don’t have a car.”
“Fortunately, I have no plans of ever eating durian.”
“They took out his blood for nothing. This man should be compensated with a box of durian.”
“The problem here is that people are punished for making mistakes. But who punishes the police?”
Featured Images via Pear Video
