JÁN Cuper, an MP for the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), who is also running for the post of the head of the Bratislava higher territorial unit in the upcoming regional elections, caused an accident while drunk at the wheel of his car.
The accident took place on November 13 in the evening in the town of Modra, close to Bratislava. According to the SME daily, breath tests immediately after the car accident showed that Cuper was intoxicated with over two parts of alcohol per thousand parts (per mille) of blood. Ivica Kmeťová, the head of the centre for the treatment of drug dependencies in Košice said that for an average man weighing 70 kilogrammes, two per mille would mean around 10 shots of hard alcohol, 10 beers or 10 glasses of wine.
Cuper says that he only had a glass of wine on Sunday lunchtime. TV crews recorded Cuper immediately after the accident, however, and it was apparent that he was finding it difficult to talk.
Police confiscated the MPs driving licence at the scene but later gave it back to him because Cuper enjoys MP immunity. Unlike any other citizen, Cuper does not face any a fine or the threat of losing his licence. A regular person caught driving drunk can be fined by up to Sk15,000 (€380) and be banned from driving for up to two years.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
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