A 40-year-old Belgian man, who was brought before a court in Bruges after being arrested for repeated drink-driving, has been cleared of all charges after proving that he suffers from intestinal fermentation syndrome (ABS), an extremely rare disease in which the body produces alcohol.

By … unfortunate coincidence, as his lawyer, Anne Ghesquière described it, her client works in a brewery. Three doctors who examined him independently confirmed the diagnosis.

The judge noted in his ruling that the defendant, who was not named as a habitual offender by the Belgian courts, he showed no signs of intoxication. Lisa Florin, a clinical biologist at AZ Sind-Lucas Hospital in Belgium, explained that people with ABS produce the same type of alcohol as that found in alcoholic beverages, but generally don’t feel the effects as much. People are not born with this disease, but some people who already suffer from another gastrointestinal disease develop it.

Alcohol is usually produced when people consume foods high in carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes or carrots. According to the lawyer, scientists believe that the condition is underdiagnosed since only 20 confirmed cases have been recorded worldwide to date.

Gasquier’s client was “caught” by police officers in April 2022 driving “drunk”, as his blood alcohol level reached 0.91mg/l. A month later, he was again arrested for having exceeded the legal limit of alcohol consumption, with 0.71mg/l. In 2019 he was fined and had his driving license revoked for the same reasons. He always declared his innocence, that he did not drink alcohol and he was unaware that he was suffering from this rare syndrome.

Now, he follows a low-carb diet.