1955 Present: Gratiaen J.

DON CARTHELIS, Appellant, and B. D. IBRAHIM (Sub-
Inspector of Police), Respondent

S. C. 370-M. C. Balapitiya, 10,434
 

Motor Traffic Act, No. 14 of 1951-Section 153 {1)-"Drivingwhen under the influence of alcohol ". By section 153 (1) of the Motor Traffic Act-

" No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway when he is under the influence of alcohol or any drug. "

Held, that no offence is committed unless the person driving the vehicle has brought himself under the influence of alcohol or drugs to such an extent that he cannot safely be entrusted with its control while in that condition.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Magistrate's Court, Balapitiya.

E. A. G. de Silva, for the accused appellant.

P. Weerasinghe, Crown-Counsel, for the Attorney-General.

Cur. adv. vult.

July 19, 1955. GRATIAEN J.-

The appellant drove a motor ambulance in which, a patient was conveyed from the Balapitiya Hospital to the Civil Hospital at Galle on the night of 12th. October, 1954. On the return journey the ambulance knocked down a pedestrian called Daemon. The injured man was removed in the same vehicle to Balapitiya where