BTS' SUGA’s DUI case: Electric scooter ruled as non-personal mobility; know how it affects investigation
In BTS’ SUGA DUI case, his electric scooter has been ruled out as a non-personal mobility. Know how it affects the ongoing investigation.
SUGA, the famous BTS rapper and soloist who not long ago won over the world with his debut album D-Day and the subsequent world tour has recently gotten embroiled in a drunk and driving incident. In new developments in SUGA’s DUI incident, the police have ruled out his electric scooter as a non-personal mobility changing the direction of the investigation.
On August 9, 2024, the South Korean media outlet Dispatch reported that the police station in charge of SUGA’s driving under the influence (DUI) case, has come forward with a new statement in the BTS member’s drunk and driving investigation.
According to the report, an officer from Yongsan Police Station stated on a phone interview that the electric scooter SUGA was driving on the night of August 6, 2024, has been classified as a non-personal mobility or non-PM.
This confirms that the electric scooter being driven by the BTS rapper was not a personal mobility device. Consequently, this changes the ongoing investigation as now SUGA can be subject to criminal punishment on the same regulations that apply to drunk driving a car.
It was noted in the report that a PM or personal mobility device is a transportation device with a maximum speed of less than 25km/hr and a total weight of less than 30kg.
These low-speed electric mobility devices are classified as PM. But the electric scooter driven by SUGA is classified as a motorized bicycle which rules out that the case will be treated the same as drunk driving a car. Additionally, the schedule for the police investigation has not been set yet in motion.
In other news, previously, the Military Manpower Association after SUGA’s DUI incident had assured that the BTS member would not be subject to any extra punishment as it happened during off hours.
Meanwhile, on the night of August 6, 2024, SUGA was found to be driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol while coming home. When the BTS member was near his home he lost his balance and fell down.
A patrol officer nearby helped him, but when he smelt alcohol on his breath, took him to the nearest police station. There he went on a breath analyzer test in which reportedly his blood alcohol level was found to be more than 0.08% enough to revoke someone’s license.
Soon after on the morning of August 7, BIGHIT MUSIC and SUGA issued an apology.