A 60-year-old driver from Pomorie was caught drunk at the wheel on Morska Street in the town while still on probation for an earlier drink-driving conviction, Burgas regional police said.
Officers from the Pomorie police station stopped his Skoda Octavia, which has Burgas plates, at about 1:10pm yesterday. A breathalyser test showed 1.04 per mille.
The man refused to give blood and urine samples for a lab test to check the result. He is being held for up to 24 hours, and fast-track proceedings have been opened against him.
Investigators are also looking into his earlier conviction.
Under the Criminal Code, driving with more than 0.5 per mille is a crime if the driver has already been convicted of driving with more than 1.2 per mille and the other legal conditions are met. It carries one to five years in prison and a fine of €2,000 to €5,113 (10,000 leva).
This puts the man in a much worse position than a driver caught for the first time with the same reading. Investigators will weigh the evidence and decide under which article of the law he will be charged.
The court will decide what happens to his earlier suspended sentence, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Only a month ago, Pomorie police dealt with another serious drink-driving case. On 15 September, a 45-year-old man was detained after a check in which the breathalyser showed 2.71 per mille. He also refused to give blood and urine samples for a lab test, and fast-track proceedings were opened against him.