A Belgian man has been taken to court after being caught drunk driving.
This case in Belgium seemed like just one of many - but it turned out not to be...
This Monday, the judge ruled that the individual in question had alcohol in his blood while driving because he suffers from intestinal fermentation syndrome (ABS) - a rare disease in which the body produces alcohol.
Also known as "self-brewery syndrome", this condition causes alcohol levels to rise in the body, even without consumption.
By "unfortunate coincidence", the man's lawyer told Reuters, quoted by REUTERS, the defendant works in a brewery.
According to the Belgian press, the judge stressed that the suspect - examined by three doctors - did not show any symptoms of intoxication.
In 2015, ZAP reported the case of an Englishman who got drunk every time he ate French fries.
It is believed that the "self-brewery syndrome" in the body is triggered when the amount of fungi in the stomach exceeds that of good bacteria.
Thus, whenever the person suffering from the syndrome consumes foods that please the fungi, such as sugars and carbohydrates, they multiply, producing ethyl alcohol which then ends up flowing into the bloodstream.
People are not normally born with this disease, but are more likely to develop it when they already have diseases related to the intestines
