TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A foreign driver has lost the latest stage of his fight against the removal of his work and residence permits after a drunk driving conviction, reports said Saturday (April 24).

Appeals against the ruling by the Taipei High Administrative Court were still possible, the Liberty Times reported.

A Turkish national surnamed Kayretli was employed by a company in Taiwan in 2016, allowing him to obtain a work permit from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) valid until the end of 2019 from the National Immigration Agency (NIA).

However, in August 2018, he spent some time drinking at a bowling alley in the New Taipei City district of Sanchong. Driving away from the location, he was stopped by police, who registered an alcohol level of 0.3 milligrams per liter.

As the figure was higher than the 0.25 minimum for an offense against public safety, the New Taipei District Court sentenced him to two months in prison, according to the Liberty Times. As a result, the MOL revoked his work permit and banned him from seeking work inside Taiwan again, while also passing the case on to the NIA.

As the latter judged Kayretli’s reason for staying in Taiwan to have been voided, it scrapped his ARC and ordered him to leave the country within 10 days. However, he appealed, as he argued his blood alcohol level had only just surpassed the maximum limit, and he had not caused any accident or endangered any member of the public’s safety while driving.

Under those circumstances, his case could not be considered grave and was not sufficient grounds to revoke his work permit, he said. However, the Taipei High Administrative Court rejected Kayretli’s arguments, saying the MOL and the NIA had acted according to the law and not overstepped their authority.