On Sunday Marek Latas, a lawmaker for the conservative Law and Justice Party of former prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was stopped by traffic police for a routine check and failed a breathalyzer test.
The breath test indicated the politician had 0.7 units of alcohol in his blood while the legal limit is 0.2 units. He claimed that he had eaten too many apples prior to getting behind the wheel, saying that apple juice is used to make alcoholic drinks such as cider.
"I am diabetic," he said, "and I did not drive while drunk. I ate several apples before driving."
The lawmaker, however, admitted that he "probably had a couple of glasses [of alcohol]" the day before he drove.
"It was in the evening," Latas said. "I promise this will never happen again."
The case is being investigated by Polish prosecutors and a parliamentary commission on ethics. The issue of temporarily stripping the lawmaker of his parliamentary immunity is currently being discussed.
