A BREWERY worker had a drink-drive charge dismissed because of a condition that causes his own body to produce alcohol.
The 40-year-old from Belgium has auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), a rare metabolic condition that causes carbohydrates in the gut to ferment.
This leads to higher alcohol levels in the blood and can cause sufferers to become drunk.
His lawyer Anse Ghesquiere said scientists believe that the number of ABS cases in the world is under-estimated.
Currently, only some 20 people globally have been officially diagnosed with the condition.
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Medics at the Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, US, have previously shown people with the condition often have a high-sugar, high carbohydrate diet.
It is more common in people who also have diabetes, obesity, and Crohn's disease, but can occur in anyone.
Alongside the dangers of intoxication while diving, the condition can also cause a range of dangerous side effects including damage to the liver.
Scientists are not sure what causes it, but believe it is linked to specific strains of bacteria and yeast found in the gut.
Ms Ghesquiere said her client — whose name was not given — gave evidence of his ABS after tests run by three doctors.
The court recognised that factors unforeseen by law applied to the man's case and acquitted him of the charge.
He ended up in court after police in April 2022 pulled his vehicle over and registered him giving a breathalyser reading of 0.91 milligrammes of alcohol per litre.
He was stopped again a month later when his breath contained 0.71 milligrammes.
The legal limit in Belgium is 0.22 milligrammes per litre of air exhaled, which corresponds to a blood alcohol level of 0.5 grammes per litre.
In 2019, the man had received a fine and a driving licence suspension despite protesting that he had not drunk any alcohol.
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He was apparently unaware of his syndrome before his latest run-in with police.
Ghesquiere said she and her client were awaiting formal notification of the acquittal.
She noted that the prosecution service had a month to lodge an appeal if it wished to do so.
The man meanwhile was following a carbohydrate-light diet to avoid his stomach producing more alcohol.
At his initial court appearance in March, the prosecutor requested he avoid any alcoholic beverages, the Belgian state television channel VRT reported.