Yorkton judge rules no evidence that burping threw off breathalyzer

A judge in Yorkton, Sask., has ruled that there's no evidence that belching gave a man an artificially high breathalyzer result.

In May 2016, RCMP stopped a driver just after midnight and gave him a roadside alcohol breath test. When he failed, he was brought to the local police detachment, where he twice blew over the legal limit, registering a reading of 0.10 and then 0.09 blood alcohol concentration.

The driver's lawyer argued the police officer didn't properly observe the accused betweeneach breath test, making the reading possibly inaccurate.

He also argued that his client burped twice between breath tests, belching acid into his mouth and then swallowing it. The accused said he was burping because he had recently drunk alcohol and was having stomach problems.

However, the judge ruled that there was no evidence that the test was inaccurate.

"While I do not reject (the accused's) evidence that he belched twice before the second test, there was no evidence in this case about the potential effect of any undetected alcohol in a subject such as (the accused's) mouth on the proper operation of the Intox EC/IR II," wrote Judge Ross Green.

The judge noted theRCMPofficer didn't carefully observe the accused for the entire time he was taking the breath tests. However, he said there was no evidence that this created a false reading.

In the past, burping has been found to give artificially high breath readings. Any burps or regurgitation that brings alcohol into the mouth within 15 minutes of the test can falsely elevate the result.

• MORE SASKATCHEWAN NEWS |No 'last call'? Proposed rules for restricting liquor sales in La Ronge stir debate
• MORE SASKATCHEWAN NEWS |Correctional Service Canada expands take-home naloxone kit program for inmates