Swiss man tries to report crime, gets arrested for drunk driving

As residents of Switzerland, we all know a person who epitomises the word Bünzli - be it enforcing the 10pm noise curfew with an iron fist or calculating the exact amount to pay at a group dinner. However, while they are often in the right, it can be satisfying when the tables turn: a new report from Canton Obwalden has revealed that a motorist who visited a police station to complain about another driver was himself declared drunk and arrested.

Reporter becomes the reported at Swiss police station

According to a statement given by Swiss police, at around 4.30pm on July 20, a car pulled into the police station in the town of Stans, Canton Nidwalden. Not long after, in-sauntered a man who said he wanted to launch a formal complaint against another driver, who he said committed a traffic violation that could have caused a road accident.

Unfortunately for him, officers soon started to notice a small flaw that may have made the good Samaritan's account slightly less reliable: in the words of 20 Minuten, “He reeked of alcohol.” The emergency services then tested the man and found that in his efforts to register a complaint, he had decided that it was worth driving drunk.

Driver risks losing licence over incident

The accused told the officers that he had consumed the boose long before he set off, but a subsequent blood and urine test confirmed that the man had indeed thrown caution to the wind in his crusade to register his complaint. He was dismissed from the station and told to walk home.

Now, the driver faces court proceedings over his actions and may have his driving licence revoked as a result. One could say the lesson here is that while it is important to report any crime you see, make sure to not commit a crime in your efforts to let someone know.