The son of a deputy minister was given a suspended jail term, had his driver’s license suspended for six months, was ordered to perform 12 hours of community and fined 4,000 baht after he was found guilty of drunk driving.

The suspect, whose name was not disclosed by the police, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, after he refused to stop at a police checkpoint on Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek Road and rammed his BMW into road barrier early this morning.

At about 3.30am today, police manning a checkpoint at the mouth of Ratchadapisek Soi 31 indicated to a BMW to pull over for a check, but the driver refused to stop and rammed his car into the barrier, after which the police made the arrest.

Police then demanded a breathalyser test, but the driver refused. The police used an alternative device, which did not require the driver’s cooperation, which produced a blood-alcohol reading of 183mg per 100mL.

The 46-year-old driver was taken to Prachachuen police station for questioning, but he refused to acknowledge the charges against him, accused the police of having no authority to make the arrest and of stealing belongings from the car.

Pol Col Sanya Ubonwirattana, the superintendent of Prachachuen police, said that the driver pleaded guilty to the charges after he had sobered up and was released on bail.

The driver was indicted in Bangkok North District Court this morning, found guilty of drunk driving and sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for two years, fined 4,000 baht, had his driver’s license suspended for six months and was ordered to perform 12 hours of community service.