Photo: screenshot from The Beijing News

A drunken woman who drove a Maserati car in Nanchang, capital city of East China's Jiangxi Province, has been sentenced to 2-months detention and fined 10,000 yuan ($1,567.5) due to dangerous driving, a local court ruled on Saturday.

The announcement came after the drunken driver surnamed Sun was caught by police on November 6. She refused to cooperate when intercepted by the police, and repeatedly said that she wanted a big shot "Yu Wei" (homonym) to come over, which was broadcast live online and triggered heated public concern.

The court said that Sun, though having confessed her guilt, attempted to evade the police’s check and obstruct the law enforcement of the police at the beginning, which called for a heavy punishment.

Sun "confessed" on November 7 that in fact she did not know any person named "Yu Wei," but she knew that the director of the public security sub-bureau in the local district of Nanchang city was named "Yu Wei." However, Sun did not know this "Yu Wei" had been transferred to another district's public security sub-bureau.

Sun said the reason why she said "Call Yu Wei over" was she had drunk too much and feared that her car would be seized by police, hoping to avoid or reduce policy penalty.

On the evening of November 6, during the live broadcast of a campaign by the traffic police in Nanchang, Sun was intercepted by officers but she refused to cooperate and conduct an alcohol test. Sun failed to blow into the breathalyser for 66 times in 17 minutes, media reported.

The video clip circulating on social media showed that Sun did not appear flustered under the investigation. Instead, she repeatedly told police officers, "Call Yu Wei over!" and tried to make a phone call. 

Then, an officer stopped her from calling, and told her she was being recorded. "It's futile to call anyone," said the police officer.

Sun was identified as having a blood alcohol content of 102.68mg/100ml. She was suspected of dangerous driving and a criminal case has been filed against her.

The "Yu Wei" mentioned by Sun sparked heated discussion online with many Chinese netizens questioning who "Yu Wei" is. The netizens wondered if the driver was trying to use her relation to a senior official in order to avoid punishment.

The related topics including "drunk driver of luxury car finds Yu Wei" and "Maserati driver blows 66 times in 17 minutes" have trended on social media with up to 500 million views.

According to a police announcement on Tuesday, under the supervision of the Nanchang's discipline inspection authority, six police officers of the city's public security authority were found to have names of homophone with "Yu Wei." But they all do not know Sun, and do not have any relation with Sun, the statement said.

No one has intervened in Sun's case, the announcement noted.

National discipline inspection authority commented on Sun's case on Monday, saying that "In real life, there are always some people who believe that rules and regulations are set for others. They think they are well-connected and have strong backing, so they behave badly as they want regardless of laws, and believe they can find someone to solve troubles for them."

However, the reality has proved that all people are equal before the law, and no one enjoys privileges, said the discipline authority. 

Global Times