Criminal Case Report - Provincial Court

Criminal Case Report - Provincial Court

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II v. CHEN, Peng
CCC 253 1 a: Care or control of vehicle or vessel while impaired.

Richmond Provincial Courthouse March 16, 2011
Courtroom No. 107 The Honourable Judge R Fratkin
Summary of Facts
About 4:20 a.m. 12 October 2009, members of the Richmond RCMP detachment attended a vehicle parked on Cook Rd. in Richmond, BC, in response to a noise complaint; the vehicle’s horn was honking intermittently. The attending constables approached a Range Rover and noticed its running lights were on, but the engine was off. The Range Rover was legally and properly parked. The constables discovered the accused in the driver’s seat, apparently unconscious, head resting on the steering wheel. The police rapped on the window a few times in an attempt to get his attention. They had also turned on their police cruiser’s emergency lights and the accused did not respond to that. Constable Zentner opened the driver’s door (which was unlocked) and this awoke the accused. Cst. Zentner noted that the keys were in the ignition and the dashboard lights were illuminated. Cst. Zentner also noted that the accused did not have his seatbelt on, and that there was a very strong odour of liquor coming from the inside of the vehicle. The accused, after being woken up, seemed very confused and had red, watery eyes. He tried to push the light from Zentner’s flashlight out of his eyes, although the constable noted that the accused was not aggressive about it. The accused was unresponsive to questioning. He was arrested, read his Charter rights and was helped into the back of the police cruiser. The accused was taken directly to the detachment where he was kept overnight in cells. He woke up the next morning sober if confused, and was released on his own recognizance.
Crown’s Argument
Crown counsel (Ms. Medjuck) called Cst. Zentner as a witness for the Crown and confirmed the above summary of facts. While cross-examining Chen, she built a case around the...

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