TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man who made two dozen calls to police in one day while drunk was issued an NT$8,000 (US$250) fine by a Changhua City court.

The man surnamed Yeh (葉) on Nov. 1, 2023 called 110 while intoxicated but refused to disclose his identity after the calls were answered, according to the criminal summary judgment released on Tuesday (Feb. 20), reported CNA. Despite police attempts to warn Yeh that further misuse of 110 would lead to legal consequences under the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), he continued to make emergency calls.

The police traced his calls and pinpointed his location to a local temple. When confronted by police, Yeh reportedly said "You two boys, don't raise your voices at me," reported China Times.

He ignored the police's admonishments and made a total of 24 calls that afternoon. Later, police took him to the station and when questioned, Yeh claimed to be intoxicated and unaware of what had happened.

The judge at the Changhua District Court held that the defendant had called the 110 report hotline for no reason, harassed the police on duty, refused to listen to the police's dissuasion, wasted police resources, and excluded other people who needed police resources. The judge determined that Yeh's actions violated the provisions of Article 85, Paragraph 4 of the Social Order Maintenance Act.

The judge imposed an NT$8,000 fine on Yeh. The ruling is subject to appeal.