Alcohol importers back random breathalyser tests - Government looking into idea

The Sense Group, , which is backed by producers and importers of alcoholic beverages, said today that it was backing the call (by Sedqa) for random breathalyser testing.

It said it had, for a number of years, been calling for enforcement of current legislation against alcohol abuse.

The TSG appealed to the government to establish a strong and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders before pressing forward with a national alcohol policy. It reiterated its stand that the industry needs to be part of the consultation process on matters that can affect the livelihood of thousands of employees in Malta.

TSG appealed to the government not to take measures which were counterproductive. Citing as an example the recent increase in duty on beer and spirits, TSG said that this measure would only serve to increase importation from Sicily rather than address abusive consumption.

The government, it said, should not introduce laws which cannot be enforced, or play into the hands of lobby groups “who are purposely demonising alcoholic beverages to further their agenda of legalising illegal drugs”.

“Spreading the perception that consuming beer, wine or spirits responsibly is more dangerous than injecting heroin is irresponsible and leads to social disaster. It is for this reason that dialogue and a solid consultation process is required to find the best solutions in the national interest.”

This year, TSG has launched an information website – drinkawaremalta.com – which contains extensive and objective information about different aspects of consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Meanwhile, The Times reports today that the government will not rush into accepting the Sedqa proposal to give the police wider discretionary powers to carry out breathalyser tests at road blocks.

A spokesman said the Home Affairs Ministry would be “looking closely” at Sedqa’s proposals, and he pointed out that the matter was closely linked to the controversial issue of searches at road blocks.

“The government will be looking closely at Sedqa’s comments on arbitrary breathalyser testing during road blocks as well as earlier contributions dealing with the closely related matter of searches during road blocks... before taking any decisions as to what suggestions are to be implemented, if any,” the spokesman said.

Earlier this year, The Sunday Times quoted criminal lawyers saying citizens were not adequately protected against abuse of power and discrimination during road blocks. Their comments followed a European Court of Human Rights judgment in January which found that police stop and search powers, under the UK’s anti-terrorism legislation, were too broad and interfered with an individual’s right to privacy.

In a bid to clamp down on drunk-driving, Sedqa is proposing that the law should allow the police to perform a breathalyser test not only when they have “reasonable suspicion” a person is drunk.

Sedqa’s operations director Jesmond Schembri said that police officers needed to be given more power to administer the test.

“Just as in a road block nobody can protest if a policeman asks to see an ID card or driving licence, policemen should also have the discretion to administer a breathalyser test,” he said.

Only 60 positive breathalyser tests were carried out this year until the end of October, according to police statistics. Sedqa’s call comes ahead of a campaign to raise awareness to the dangers of drinking too much which it plans to launch for the Christmas period.