Wow just Wow
This one made me laugh, people just can't admit they fucked up, man o man what's next sleep killing, sorry officer I was sleeping when I killed those 10 people, so sad.
Accused claims he was drinking in his sleep
???More Stories
• Judge rejects Balsillie bid
• City turfs lease agreement
• Let's talk
• Accused claims he was drinking in his ...
• Hwy 8 gets expansion funding
• Taser inquiry can make finding of misconduct: ...
• Full-day kindergarten to be phased in ...
• Pro-reform protester shot dead in Tehran
• Cpl. Martin Dubé makes his final journey ...
• Al-Qaida suspected as hostages found ...
June 16, 2009
Brian Caldwell
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
A university student is trying to beat an impaired driving charge by claiming he got drunk while he was sleeping.
John Soong, 20, of Toronto admits he had almost twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system when he was stopped by police in downtown Waterloo in March 2008.
But he testified during a trial in Kitchener court that he has a sleep disorder and doesn't remember drinking in his residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.
His story was partially backed up yesterday by an expert who said Soong has sleep apnea -- a condition that causes him to frequently stop breathing during the night -- and extreme daytime drowsiness as a result.
"We're really not dealing with a totally healthy person here," Dr. Henry Moller said.
Soong went to sleep clinics for help both before and after his arrest on impaired and dangerous driving charges.
His father, Steve, said the problem first surfaced in 2007 when he began sleeping "all the time" on weekend visits home from school.
"All the time I think he's lazy because he doesn't want to get up," he said, estimating his son slept 16 to 18 hours a day.
On the day of the incident, Soong said, he drove to his WLU residence from Toronto, then worked out at the gym with friends. He testified he showered, took several medications for a cold and went to bed about 10:40 p.m. because he was tired.
Soong said he hadn't had anything to drink all day when he woke up hungry about two hours later, decided to go out for fast food and offered to give friends a ride to a downtown bar.
He sped away when an officer on foot tried to stop him in the area of the bar, but was arrested by police in a cruiser a short time later.
Tests showed he was well over the legal alcohol limit for driving even though Soong claims he wasn't awake until he left to get food.
Defence lawyer Edward Hung suggested Soong must have been sleepwalking and sleep-drinking in the two-hour period between the time he went to bed and the time he went out to get food.
Moller, a psychiatrist and a medical doctor with a sleep clinic at a Toronto hospital, said it's "possible" Soong drank without realizing it because of his sleep disorder.
Other students at the residence also testified that Soong -- only an occasional drinker -- seemed distant, unresponsive and "zoned out" when they saw him that night.
Even if he was asleep while he got drunk, however, Crown prosecutor Mike Murdoch said Soong should have realized it before he got in his car.
"If he drank all that alcohol, doesn't his body have to be telling him something is wrong?" Murdoch asked.
The trial will continue at a later date with final arguments by Crown and defence lawyers.
bcaldwell@therecord.com
Accused claims he was drinking in his sleep
???More Stories
• Judge rejects Balsillie bid
• City turfs lease agreement
• Let's talk
• Accused claims he was drinking in his ...
• Hwy 8 gets expansion funding
• Taser inquiry can make finding of misconduct: ...
• Full-day kindergarten to be phased in ...
• Pro-reform protester shot dead in Tehran
• Cpl. Martin Dubé makes his final journey ...
• Al-Qaida suspected as hostages found ...
June 16, 2009
Brian Caldwell
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
A university student is trying to beat an impaired driving charge by claiming he got drunk while he was sleeping.
John Soong, 20, of Toronto admits he had almost twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system when he was stopped by police in downtown Waterloo in March 2008.
But he testified during a trial in Kitchener court that he has a sleep disorder and doesn't remember drinking in his residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.
His story was partially backed up yesterday by an expert who said Soong has sleep apnea -- a condition that causes him to frequently stop breathing during the night -- and extreme daytime drowsiness as a result.
"We're really not dealing with a totally healthy person here," Dr. Henry Moller said.
Soong went to sleep clinics for help both before and after his arrest on impaired and dangerous driving charges.
His father, Steve, said the problem first surfaced in 2007 when he began sleeping "all the time" on weekend visits home from school.
"All the time I think he's lazy because he doesn't want to get up," he said, estimating his son slept 16 to 18 hours a day.
On the day of the incident, Soong said, he drove to his WLU residence from Toronto, then worked out at the gym with friends. He testified he showered, took several medications for a cold and went to bed about 10:40 p.m. because he was tired.
Soong said he hadn't had anything to drink all day when he woke up hungry about two hours later, decided to go out for fast food and offered to give friends a ride to a downtown bar.
He sped away when an officer on foot tried to stop him in the area of the bar, but was arrested by police in a cruiser a short time later.
Tests showed he was well over the legal alcohol limit for driving even though Soong claims he wasn't awake until he left to get food.
Defence lawyer Edward Hung suggested Soong must have been sleepwalking and sleep-drinking in the two-hour period between the time he went to bed and the time he went out to get food.
Moller, a psychiatrist and a medical doctor with a sleep clinic at a Toronto hospital, said it's "possible" Soong drank without realizing it because of his sleep disorder.
Other students at the residence also testified that Soong -- only an occasional drinker -- seemed distant, unresponsive and "zoned out" when they saw him that night.
Even if he was asleep while he got drunk, however, Crown prosecutor Mike Murdoch said Soong should have realized it before he got in his car.
"If he drank all that alcohol, doesn't his body have to be telling him something is wrong?" Murdoch asked.
The trial will continue at a later date with final arguments by Crown and defence lawyers.
bcaldwell@therecord.com
Comments
"well officer, i must have been sleep driving when i hopped the curb and took out those dozen people."
Homicidal somnambulism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia