At just before 3am on June 28, “Stud,” as court records say he likes to be called, crawled over into the driver’s seat to move his friend Yazam’s car from the middle of Binjiang Rd. where he had parked it while he ran to get water, to the curb.

Then he shot across the street and crashed into a planter opposite the museum that was Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen’s mansion (below) during China’s near-democracy days. Police were called and “Stud” was soon let out on bail, getting his day in court in a trial which began yesterday, making him the first foreigner to stand trial in Guangzhou on a reckless driving charge. Foreigners recently caught driving while drunk elsewhere in the PRD have been given penalties ranging from community service to five months of jail time.

On the night of the crash, Stud, a Jordanian national, was found with blood alcohol content of .102, well above the legal limit in China. He says he only had a couple beers after dinner, which of course would leave anybody impaired enough to crash their buddy’s car.

Public prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 3 months, with 6 months being the maximum penalty allowed for this particular offense. Interestingly, they’ve also argued that Stud flagrantly violated Chinese law, in spite of the extensive public awareness campaign that has been held in Guangzhou over the past couple years, aimed at educating the public of the penalties for drunk driving, as well as the ongoing crackdown on drunk drivers on the roads.

Stud’s defense, meanwhile, chose to play the laowai card, saying their client doesn’t speak Chinese and spends little time in China, so could hardly be expected to understand Chinese law. Also, drunk driving is legal in Jordan.

Stud’s lawyers are seeking to have the charges dropped, or reduced, saying that his family have already paid for the damage done to city property, and that ten times as much was spent repairing Yazam’s car. They also say Stud deserves a reduced sentence as he reported the incident to police himself—a fact under dispute, as trees along the road blocked Stud from surveillance camera footage at the time the call was made. The judge, however, did confirm that it was Stud’s mobile phone that was used to make the initial report to police.

A verdict has yet to be delivered.

Sources:

Information Times
Guangzhou Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily