A district councilor from Anenii Noi was convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol. Although he was drunk, he was punished only with community service because the penalties stipulated in the Criminal Code were milder when he committed the deed, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, in July 2023, the counselor, being intoxicated, was driving his car on one of the streets of Anenii Noi city. The breathalyzer indicated a concentration of 0.92 mg/l of alcohol vapor in the exhaled air, which represents an advanced state of intoxication.

The Anenii Noi branch of the Causeni Court punished the defendant with 220 hours of community service. According to prosecutors, it was the only punishment stipulated at the time when the crime was committed, together with the ban on driving.

In another case, a 36-year-old man from the same district was convicted after he was caught without a license and in a state of inebriation (0.69 mg/l of alcohol in the exhaled air). In 2017, the defendant was convicted of a similar crime.

"Due to the recent amendments made to the Criminal Code, driving the means of transport in a state of inebriation by exceeding the minimum allowed limit, which, as the defendant said, meant four bottles of beer consumed, resulted in the application of a fine of 2,250 conventional units, the equivalent of 112,500 lei," reads a press release.

Both sentences are final and enforceable.

On September 7, 2024, the penalties for drunk drivers or drivers without a license were made considerably harsher. Thus, if a driver is caught in an advanced state of intoxication, they face a fine of up to 125,000 lei or even up to 3 years’ imprisonment, in both cases with ban on driving. The fine for refusing the alcohol or drug test and for evading the medical examination reaches 150,000 lei, and the law also provides for imprisonment for a term of 1 to 4 years and ban on driving, in both cases.